I've released Brick Rick, a new single-screen arcade for the Amstrad CPC (64k).
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Current version is 1.0.1 (2020-10-07)
You can download the game (CDT, DSK and CPR for the GX4000) from: https://www.usebox.net/jjm/brick-rick/
Poly Play is making a very special physical edition that can be ordered here: https://www.polyplay.xyz/navi.php?suche=Brick+Rick&lang=eng
Special because for the first time, na_th_an from the Mojon Twins has worked with me to make the cover and manual art of the physical edition, and I love it!
Enjoy!
As you may know, there's a dev thread here: https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/programming/brick-rick-(development)/
https://youtu.be/PmNW-FoTny0
Great game, am really enjoying it.
I have tested it on a real CPC464 and a real GX4000.
Really nice ;)
Cheers,
Shane
I have noticed I didn't map ESC to the second controller, so currently the GX4000 version has that limitation (you can't exit the game, other than losing all your lives).
If this is a bis issue, I can fix it!
Also I've been suggested that the Plus users could also use the CPR, so I shouldn't remove the menu options. I think the (lucky) Plus users can use the DSK; the CPR was adapted to be used with the GX4000 that doesn't have keyboard.
My five year old son says 'this looks awesome!'
Unfortunately my two year old is currently hogging the controller so he's not been able to have a go!
I did however manage to get in one quick go before they noticed me, and I can confirm that it's enjoyable indeed ;D
Quote from: Skunkfish on 08:40, 26 September 20
My five year old son says 'this looks awesome!'
Unfortunately my two year old is currently hogging the controller so he's not been able to have a go!
I did however manage to get in one quick go before they noticed me, and I can confirm that it's enjoyable indeed ;D
I had a lot of people telling me that they have kids and they love Magica, so I thought perhaps Brick Rick could also have that "family" factor. The physical edition may get you covered on that, it comes with a colouring book and some colour pens. Poly Play's idea, but I love it ;D
Quote from: reidrac on 08:19, 26 September 20
I have noticed I didn't map ESC to the second controller, so currently the GX4000 version has that limitation (you can't exit the game, other than losing all your lives).
If this is a bis issue, I can fix it!
Also I've been suggested that the Plus users could also use the CPR, so I shouldn't remove the menu options. I think the (lucky) Plus users can use the DSK; the CPR was adapted to be used with the GX4000 that doesn't have keyboard.
I think it is fine just the way it is :)
Cheers,
SHane
My only thought is with the 464 Plus owners without a disk drive, but it IS available on cassette and also anyone could use the conversion tool to convert the DSK...
Quote from: reidrac on 08:48, 26 September 20
I had a lot of people telling me that they have kids and they love Magica, so I thought perhaps Brick Rick could also have that "family" factor. The physical edition may get you covered on that, it comes with a colouring book and some colour pens. Poly Play's idea, but I love it ;D
Sounds great, ordering today! Kids will love that!
I like it for sure!!!
Totally fun game. Got to something like stage 16.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/752518232
Another very nice game from you, Reidrac! Simple but quite addictive, and always with nice gfx and music. The gameplay is well balanced.
I had trouble getting past level 10 though :). Not that the game is really hard, but I got too confident each time, and those sneaky aliens finally got me.
Well done!
I think over-confidence is getting the better of me in this game.... I need to be a little bit more patient and I think I'll get further!
@Targhan (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=110) Thanks, I'm glad you like it!
That's a good point about over-confidence. In my case I like to play it a bit risky, but I guess at this point I'm quite used to the game.
For me it gets harder by the 30+ stage because I'm less used to the enemies introduced in the last 20 stages.
Anyway, it is quite possible to complete the game in one sitting with a bit of practice; although IMHO that's not that important if you're having fun!
I've got report of two small bugs (not game breaker) and I'll make an update tonight:
- 10K won't give you extra life, it is 10,001 points
- if you die when there's a second left, the clock may stop instead of reset
If you have found any funny behaviour, please let me know ASAP!
Also the pre-order numbers don't look very good, not even close to my worst performing game.
Not sure if this is because of COVID, the edition, or the game itself.
You know I don't get any benefit from it, but if the publisher doesn't get even close to break even, it will mean no more physical editions from me (which is OK! whatever is the market, that's what it is).
What are people doing? There's a COLOURING book here! I will take to Twitter now to promote!
EDIT: It's certainly not a reflection on the game Juan, the game is great!
Hi Juan,This is only me, but maybe this will resonnate with some of us.
I purchase every single Polyplay release (tape + disk) for the CPC, but with Covid, my priorities are somewhere else at the moment.
I still intend to pick up both versions, but I need to wait until November to do so.
I can imagine some regulars might be in the same situation as me.
At any rate, the game looks brilliant & I'll be damned if I pass on this one :)
Keep making great games & I'll keep buying them.
Quote from: Skunkfish on 12:25, 07 October 20
What are people doing? There's a COLOURING book here! I will take to Twitter now to promote!
EDIT: It's certainly not a reflection on the game Juan, the game is great!
Thanks! :D
It's OK! We are living a difficult time and there are priorities. It is not a big deal, really.
I thought it would be healthy to share these things. I don't want people to think that there's a high volume of sales when it has never been the case, because when I decide to not make more physical releases, that would be it (not because Poly Play had said anything... for now).
I did a round of interviews with a few streamers and one of them told me that every single time he has a new game on his channel there are a number of people asking for a physical release, but then the sales don't support that interest. I think is more about finding the right balance. If the game has to be truly special, or may be the edition has to be simpler so it is cheaper to make fewer units; we'll find that sweet spot.
As I said, I'll release a bugfix version tonight!
Quote from: ldaneels on 12:45, 07 October 20
Hi Juan,This is only me, but maybe this will resonnate with some of us.
I purchase every single Polyplay release (tape + disk) for the CPC, but with Covid, my priorities are somewhere else at the moment.
I still intend to pick up both versions, but I need to wait until November to do so.
I can imagine some regulars might be in the same situation as me.
At any rate, the game looks brilliant & I'll be damned if I pass on this one :)
Keep making great games & I'll keep buying them.
Thanks! No worries. One of the great things of Poly Play is that there's stock for a long time, so you'll have the game if you want it.
Nothing is changing with this game, so nobody panics. Also: if you don't want to get the game, that's also OK! I plan to keep making games and they will be free to download an play.
I've updated the game to 1.0.1.
Download from the same place, check the PDF for the version and info re: the fixes. Thanks!
(this will be included in the physical version where possible!)
Played this together with my 10yo son the last weekend. We had a lot of fun, even if we hadn't that much success. :-) He really loved the gfx (me too)!
Thanx a lot for releasing this game.
Sorry the packaged game didn't have the expected success. Personally, I stopped buying packaged game unless I really love the game, else I'd simply let it gather dust on the shelve. I'm not much of a player! However I did play the game, like I told you, and enjoyed it. But if I have to play it again, it will be via HxC, I really don't need a physical edition.
Yes, please be patient. It could happen that there are too many games available at the same time and sometime we can't afford to order all of them the same month.
I have a question: what are the differences between those 2 products ?
https://www.polyplay.xyz/Golden-Tail-Collectors-Edition-Big-Box-3-Diskette_2
https://www.polyplay.xyz/Golden-Tail-Collectors-Edition-Big-Box-3-Diskette_1
Quote from: kawickboy on 10:03, 09 October 20
Yes, please be patient. It could happen that there are too many games available at the same time and sometime we can't afford to order all of them the same month.
I have a question: what are the differences between those 2 products ?
https://www.polyplay.xyz/Golden-Tail-Collectors-Edition-Big-Box-3-Diskette_2
https://www.polyplay.xyz/Golden-Tail-Collectors-Edition-Big-Box-3-Diskette_1
You may need to ask Poly; looks like a typo somewhere. I'll ask them to fix it!
Again, no worries everybody!
EDIT: it has been fixed now! One of them was cassette.
[I will hopefully get time to play this soon because it looks great, even though I know I probably wouldn't get past level 3]
I'd love a physical 80's compilation type offering - a bunch of different recent CPC games in a single box, with some funky compilation title and so on, just like back in the day. I can't justify collecting lots of different boxes these days as I'm not a collector. I also wouldn't want to see it relegated to a box in the attic.
I thought about ordering a physical copy but the estimated shipping price to Australia is 38 euros which seems a bit much (its never been that expensive previously).
Perhaps its just covid and I will just have to wait a while. In AUD it is $95 (including shipping) which is hard to justify to myself.
Quote from: awergh on 13:24, 10 October 20
I thought about ordering a physical copy but the estimated shipping price to Australia is 38 euros which seems a bit much (its never been that expensive previously).
Perhaps its just covid and I will just have to wait a while. In AUD it is $95 (including shipping) which is hard to justify to myself.
It may be possible to contact Poly Play if you can suggest an alternative shipping method. May be that's the price of the company they work with, and happens to be extra expensive to ship to Australia. I don't know.
It is also true that the big box editions are large (and also can be heavy), so shipping costs are higher.
It's actually a good idea to contact PolyPlay. They usually ship with DHL and the price for that Shipping to Australia is 20 EUR. it could be a mistake.
Has anyone received their physical edition yet?
Ordered mine a while back and noticed on the Polyplay site that it appears to be available now, but no sign as yet.....
Quote from: Skunkfish on 10:40, 27 November 20
Has anyone received their physical edition yet?
Ordered mine a while back and noticed on the Polyplay site that it appears to be available now, but no sign as yet.....
Sebastian sent a mail today, check your junk folder.
Among other things, he mentions that Ralph Niese passed away on Monday. Very sad news, he did the wonderful art of 6 of my games.
There's also a status update on several games re: COVID. The short story is that shipping is having long delays because of COVID restrictions, and the production of some games is slower than usual because there are several steps involved and some of them are being delayed, affecting the next step in the process.
Poly Play will deliver with the usual high quality, but unfortunately it'll take a bit longer than usual. I'm still surprised that Kitsune's Curse was almost unaffected, all things cosidered.
Please let me know if you didn't receive the mail and I can forward it to you; just DM me your email.
Thanks Juan, it was indeed sat in my Gmail spam folder for some reason!
Really sad to hear about Ralph Niese, I don't know much about him but I do know that he was an incredibly talented illustrator. And the same age as myself apparently (i.e. far too young)....
Quote from: Skunkfish on 12:40, 27 November 20
Thanks Juan, it was indeed sat in my Gmail spam folder for some reason!
Really sad to hear about Ralph Niese, I don't know much about him but I do know that he was an incredibly talented illustrator. And the same age as myself apparently (i.e. far too young)....
Ralph was very talented, and he did way more than just some game covers: https://www.deviantart.com/ralphniese/gallery
I was very lucky I got to work with him via Poly Play.
I've been playing this game today - is it wrong that I get slight Bubble Bobble vibes from this?
Quote from: zeropolis79 on 14:41, 29 November 20
I've been playing this game today - is it wrong that I get slight Bubble Bobble vibes from this?
Not at all. It takes from Bubble Bobble, Snow Bros and others; like Magica https://www.usebox.net/jjm/magica/
As far as i know, i bought every CPC release on Polyplay, and i will gladely buy this one :)
Quote from: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 22:32, 09 October 20
[I will hopefully get time to play this soon because it looks great, even though I know I probably wouldn't get past level 3]
I'd love a physical 80's compilation type offering - a bunch of different recent CPC games in a single box, with some funky compilation title and so on, just like back in the day. I can't justify collecting lots of different boxes these days as I'm not a collector. I also wouldn't want to see it relegated to a box in the attic.
There's the poly.play 3rd Anniversary Compilation (https://www.polyplay.xyz/polyplay-3rd-Anniversary-Compilation-Limited-Edition) on cassette. OK, not all of the games are for the CPC, but 5 out of 8 isn't bad.
thanks for the warning @Nich (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=53) , I have ordered it, it seems to me a good compilation, and I do not have any title of those that come.
Got mail from Poly Play that the shipping has been started. Exciting!
I don't know if all the parcels will be sent at the same time or if this will go in batches, but check your mail (junk folder included).
Hopefully everybody will have the game by Christmas!
I got my copy!
I love it! Poly Play has made a great job with the manual design.
https://twitter.com/reidrac/status/1339979942487085063
Awesome artwork, fits the game like a glove!
Still crossing my fingers that mine will reach here for Xmas!
Quote from: Skunkfish on 22:38, 21 December 20
Still crossing my fingers that mine will reach here for Xmas!
Yep, I read the news about DHL cancelling all shipments to UK/Ireland :(
Crossing my fingers too. My parcel arrived in 5 days!
Looking at it, I think I must have been a cheapskate and paid for the most 'economical' shipping service!
Well, my birthday is in February so the timing may still be perfect ;D
I have to admit, I love these typical 80s arcade games and Brick Rick would have been a great game in the arcade.
This is such a fantastic game! Technically perfect, great controls and really fun gameplay.
I am considering now to build my own arcade stick just for this game, as I think it will benefit a lot from an arcade controller.
Only one thing I am missing is a "continue" function. Repeating level 1-7 all over again just to die in level 8 again because I am not fully used to it yet is a bit frustrating.
Quote from: eto on 09:31, 23 December 20
I have to admit, I love these typical 80s arcade games and Brick Rick would have been a great game in the arcade.
This is such a fantastic game! Technically perfect, great controls and really fun gameplay.
I am considering now to build my own arcade stick just for this game, as I think it will benefit a lot from an arcade controller.
Only one thing I am missing is a "continue" function. Repeating level 1-7 all over again just to die in level 8 again because I am not fully used to it yet is a bit frustrating.
Thanks for the comment. I'm glad you like it :)
The game is not perfect; there are a few things I would have done differently. I guess you can use pokes to make it easier, or if you're using an emulator, you can use snapshots.
BUT there's a cheat mode. Pause the game and enter the Konami code (if you're using keyboard and not a 2 button joystick, use 1 and 2 as button 1 and button 2).
Frustrating is BAD, but that's the arcade experience I guess! :)
So I just lost my last life on stage 10 with 9890 points... yes, this IS frustrating :D
Anyway, you're absolutely right that frustration is part of the arcade experience and Brick Rick has exactly the right level of frustration regarding the game play. However, that's probably why they invented the "continue" function for frustrating games ;-) (if I think about it - that's kind of the first in-game purchase...)
Honestly I don't think it's possible to ever create the perfect game or program. Unless trivial, there will always be something you can optimize or do better - but maybe it would make it less fun - you never know. I'm sure the Donkey Kong creator had some ideas how to make it better - but it's a classic exactly how it is now. I think you can be absolutely proud of what you have done. I mean, I am aware this is a relatively simple game compared to many releases we have seen lately but yours is the one that I keep playing since I hooked up the C4CPC - and it has tons of games on it...
Thanks for the hint with the Konami code. I will give it a try. Or worst case play it with an emulator. I am usually playing on real (or almost real) hardware. Also something that I realised, that games are not as much fun, if not played in the right environment. As I said, I love arcade games like e.g. Donkey Kong or Galaga. But they are not fun if played with a normal controller sitting in front of a TV. But they are awesome, standing in front of a cabinet. I first thought this is related to childhood memories but it's also the case for games I never played, they just feel different. Also emulation is not the problem as my cabinet runs Mame and I am totally fine with it. My theory is, that every game has a sweet spot regarding controls and posture (sitting on a chair close to the monitor vs on a couch far away from the TV, or standing in front of a cabinet) and if that's not met, the game is losing a lot of its appeal. Hmh... I just thought I will try out Brick Rick on the cabinet...
I will look into your other games too, once I don't want to play anymore ;-) but now, back to the aliens ;-)
I won't hear a bad word against Deutsche Post or Royal Mail...
The postie just handed over a package to me in the torrential rain, with Brick Rick inside! Hooray!
Now, do I wrap it up for myself and put it under the tree ready for Christmas morning?
@eto (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=3625) Thanks for your kind words!
Time ago I decided that I would rather iterate and make a few imperfect games instead of just making THE big perfect one (that may not finish anyway). I keep learning, the next one will be better!
@Skunkfish (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=348) yay! \o/
Some pics of Brick Rick in the wild!
https://twitter.com/Imsai_REAM/status/1347855711200550912/photo/1
The kids had some fun over Christmas....
For all German here: Return Magazin no. 44 has a nice review of Brick Rick.
I think I said it before, but this magazine looks amazing. I can't read German, so for me is a bit difficult to get into the actual content, but it is remarkable that a magazine with this production quality reviews new games (besides the usual retro-nostalgia bits).