Vespertino - new game from BG Games

[TotO]

This is great, but maybe this game will need moar ROM 

For others games that was possible to release before!

[Carnivius]

am bit confused about the cartridge thing.  What kind of cart is it?  A typical GX/Plus cart or one that plugs into a usually non-cartridge port on the back of a CPC?

[Rhino]

... I came to the conclusion that my own project, which is based on Dropzone/Defender is miles better than what a C64 or Atari 800 could achieve. And that is good enough for me. I was so tempted to just say lets use 128KB and really add more effects and such. But my goals from the start was to make one of the best 64KB games ever, overcoming memory contrainst as a challenge and I think I'm reaching those goals.


My conclusion is we could all jump at the chance of using extra memory but that would be at the cost of never pushing the boundries of what can be achieved on a 64KB game and 64KB games should never be judged against a 128KB games because that would be unfair.

It's good that everyone has their own goals, also, 64kb games have the advantage of being able to participate in contests like CPCRetroDev!
I have always been more motivated to develop for 6128 just because it was the computer I had in my childhood

But with Vespertino I want to get as much as I can on CPC, even if it means using a cartridge for the full version. Highly acclaimed games from other platforms, such as the great Sam's Journey from C64, use cartridges of 512kb or more (if I'm not mistaken). This is natural on other 8bit platforms and if today that technology is also available on CPC, why not try out how CPC performs in that category? I am aware that this experiment will not please everyone, but I think it is worth a try!

[Rhino]

am bit confused about the cartridge thing.  What kind of cart is it?  A typical GX/Plus cart or one that plugs into a usually non-cartridge port on the back of a CPC?

There are several possibilities today, I think the most popular is the Dandanator, sincerely we have not yet made the tests nor decided which one we will use.

[AHack]

It's good that everyone has their own goals, also, 64kb games have the advantage of being able to participate in contests like CPCRetroDev!
I have always been more motivated to develop for 6128 just because it was the computer I had in my childhood

But with Vespertino I want to get as much as I can on CPC, even if it means using a cartridge for the full version. Highly acclaimed games from other platforms, such as the great Sam's Journey from C64, use cartridges of 512kb or more (if I'm not mistaken). This is natural on other 8bit platforms and if today that technology is also available on CPC, why not try out how CPC performs in that category? I am aware that this experiment will not please everyone, but I think it is worth a try!

We all have our own goals which is great for the community I may look into that CPCRetroDev contest... thanks for bringing it to my attention.


My childhood computer was a CPC464 which I learnt to program on... since then I've been a commercial games coder for over 30 years but the Amstrad is dear to my heart. I was alway jealous of my C64 friends but little did we know back then what the hidden talents of the Amstrad had

[ASiC]

I am all for using modern expansions on old kit as long as don't change the "character" of it. For example, I am a big advocate of memory expansions, rom cartridges and feature adding boards, like the M4.

I'd love to have software taking advantage of the PlayCity. Although it extends the sound capabilities, it is still AY sound coming off of it.

When core components are being replaced (CPUs, graphics chipsets etc) it's "nope thank you".

Expansions like Vampire, VBXE, new ULA although impressive, I don't see the benefit.

[TotO]

I'd love to have software taking advantage of the PlayCity. Although it extends the sound capabilities, it is still AY sound coming off of it.

Me too, at less to be able to have music and sfx at the same time! (the CTC-AY offered a cartridge slot like MSX and a 6ch AY for any games with rasters interrupt using the Z80 CTC)

[menegator]

Jaw dropped.-

[asertus]

HD Teaser


https://youtu.be/YAcd47eUZF4

  So many people mining bitcoins with nvidia cards when, probably, @Rhino would be able to do the same with some CRTC tricks of his...    Looking forward to Amstrad bitcoin miner by BG ...

[CraigsBar]

I worry that pinball dreams will never see a release, very concerned [emoji45]


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Me too. Such an epic game only to be played by a select few [emoji24]


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[tjohnson]

  So many people mining bitcoins with nvidia cards when, probably, @Rhino would be able to do the same with some CRTC tricks of his...    Looking forward to Amstrad bitcoin miner by BG ...

LOL bitcoin mining on an amstrad cpc

[villain]

Me too. Such an epic game only to be played by a select few


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Maybe @Rhino can tell us the latest news?

[khaz]

I can't wait to see more of the game

[khaz]

There are several possibilities today, I think the most popular is the Dandanator, sincerely we have not yet made the tests nor decided which one we will use.

While the Dandanator is a nifty device, I believe it's the wrong approach regarding the connection to a CPC. It would be more interesting to have an additional middleware, a passive "cartridge reader" that connects to the back of the CPC and with a standard-sized socket facing up. That would allow for cheap cartridges to be manufactured with a simple edge connector, as the uncommon sockets needed for the CPC would have to only be bought once by the user.

[ukmarkh]

LOL bitcoin mining on an amstrad cpc

1p a year mining [emoji23]


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[norecess464]

Looks very promising, well done Rhino!

[pelrun]

While the Dandanator is a nifty device, I believe it's the wrong approach regarding the connection to a CPC. It would be more interesting to have an additional middleware, a passive "cartridge reader" that connects to the back of the CPC and with a standard-sized socket facing up. That would allow for cheap cartridges to be manufactured with a simple edge connector, as the uncommon sockets needed for the CPC would have to only be bought once by the user.

You're describing the MotherX4 and all the peripherals that already use it


It's trivially easy to support both configurations, the only difference is using either an edge connector or a 2.54mm pin header on the cart. I'm already converting my Repoker De Ases cart over, as my 6128 doesn't have edge connectors anymore...

[zeropolis79]

Me too. Such an epic game only to be played by a select few


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That would be a pity.. I'd really love to play it..

[TotO]

You're describing the MotherX4 and all the peripherals that already use it

Before the MotherX4 was the CTC-AY. An interface with extra hardware to have a cartridge slot, 6ch AY sound and raster lines interrupts:

Spoiler: ShowHide

http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/amstrad-cpc-hardware/ctc-ay-a-new-cpc-expansion-board!/

Here a 2012 prototype running Renegade:



And Relentless in 2013:

[khaz]

You're describing the MotherX4 and all the peripherals that already use it

Not quite, as the MotherX4 expects male pins, which can be easily bent or broken if not careful or after several insertion cycles. I'm proposing the design found in every cartridge-based console, in which the cartridge is a simple, cheap, foolproof edge connector.

[ukmarkh]

I just want it in .CRT format, so we can run it on our C4CPC.


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[viddi]

I just want it in .CRT format, so we can run it on our C4CPC.


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Second that!

[TotO]

You want... But, may be they would like to sold it as a cartridge game package to have some profits?

[Duke]

You want... But, may be they would like to sold it as a cartridge game package to have some profits?

Sell it on a microSD card, so it can autoboot using C4CPC or M4 - Cheapest distribution form beside a digital download, with a wide user base (650+ for M4 alone).

[viddi]

You want... But, may be they would like to sold it as a cartridge game package to have some profits?

Don't see a contradiction in that!