Programmer needed for game

[EgoTrip]

I have pretty much given up trying to learn Z80, I dont have the patience.


I have the ideas for a game, I have 90% original graphics (a few heavily edited rips but not many), mini-game map and solution, and I will have original music as soon as I can figure out how to use something better than BooTracker (although if you can use BooTracker files then that will be great).


For obvious reasons I will not be making the resources I have now public, the only thing I will reveal now is that the game I have planned is a cross between Dizzy and Zelda, top-down adventure game.


I want the game to be in 4-colour Mode 1 and 464 compatible, which should easily be possible, especially for the initial mini-game. If it works then I will commit to a full size game.


If anyone wants to work on this with me then PM me.

[jbaudrand]

try to play "eternal light"
http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=3905
it was made in Basic using Sprites Alives. thie engine has some restriction as far as I understood, your game must feet in 31Ko*)

anyway good luck for your project! and welcome aboard.


* I must ask this "probably stupid" question to the community:
If I select "add 256Ko memory expension" in WinAPE
can I load the compiler in the extended RAM, and benefit of 128Ko for the game itself with sprites alive?
my knowledge of memory is limited actually, but I may have read somewhere that adding exta ram change all the adress and it will corrupt the game on a simple CPC (is it right or worng?)

[CPCLER]

Hi EgoTrip

Sounds like you already have done a lot of work  Would be nice with new original stuff for the CPC!

Any screenshots or muckups!!

People tends to be more interessested if they now more details!

Good luck!

/CPCLER

I have pretty much given up trying to learn Z80, I dont have the patience.


I have the ideas for a game, I have 90% original graphics (a few heavily edited rips but not many), mini-game map and solution, and I will have original music as soon as I can figure out how to use something better than BooTracker (although if you can use BooTracker files then that will be great).


For obvious reasons I will not be making the resources I have now public, the only thing I will reveal now is that the game I have planned is a cross between Dizzy and Zelda, top-down adventure game.


I want the game to be in 4-colour Mode 1 and 464 compatible, which should easily be possible, especially for the initial mini-game. If it works then I will commit to a full size game.


If anyone wants to work on this with me then PM me.

[arnoldemu]

* I must ask this "probably stupid" question to the community:
If I select "add 256Ko memory expension" in WinAPE
can I load the compiler in the extended RAM, and benefit of 128Ko for the game itself with sprites alive?
my knowledge of memory is limited actually, but I may have read somewhere that adding exta ram change all the adress and it will corrupt the game on a simple CPC (is it right or worng?)

I don't know, I think it will not be possible with sprites alive.

Software must be written so that it knows about the extra ram and it can use it.
However, all is not lost, extra ram can be used to store data. For anyone wanting to do this, follow my tips for programming with basic and you can do this safely !

[jbaudrand]

Thanks arnoldemu I will try to test it.

[Axelay]

* I must ask this "probably stupid" question to the community:
If I select "add 256Ko memory expension" in WinAPE
can I load the compiler in the extended RAM, and benefit of 128Ko for the game itself with sprites alive?
my knowledge of memory is limited actually, but I may have read somewhere that adding exta ram change all the adress and it will corrupt the game on a simple CPC (is it right or worng?)

iirc, Eternal Light did something like that with 128k, and there was something strange going on where it worked under emulation, but not on a real 6128.

[CPCIak]

iirc, Eternal Light did something like that with 128k, and there was something strange going on where it worked under emulation, but not on a real 6128.

I've tried to transfer Eternal Light to my 6128 via HxC three times without success

[mr_lou]

Eternal Light was coded with WinApe, and sadly never tested on a real CPC.
Afaik it doesn't run on a real CPC.

[arnoldemu]

iirc, Eternal Light did something like that with 128k, and there was something strange going on where it worked under emulation, but not on a real 6128.

I believe it was down to the way it handled the extra 64k, just using OUTs and reading/writing data.

Really it should have gone through some rsx handler functions to ensure data was valid for basic when it returned.

I don't know why it didn't show the problem under emulation.

[jbaudrand]

 ooook...

no choice, I must finish rodnay zaks, and three other books.

[norecess]

@EgoTrip People advised to use BASIC programming language for your game and that was a good advice. I also recommend looking further with any helpers such as Sprites Alive, as also already mentioned here.

[EgoTrip]

Someone has PM'ed me offering to help, I will let you know how it goes.


Thanks for the advice, but I dont want to use BASIC, its too slow and amateurish  (no offense intended towards people who use it). Im not too good at BASIC anyway, never really managed to get good at coding at all. I am much better with the design parts rather than coding which is why I want someone to do the coding.

[jbaudrand]

once compiled, sprites alives give good result in term of speed:
http://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=1070

[AMSDOS]

EgoTrip wrote:

Thanks for the advice, but I dont want to use BASIC, its too slow and amateurish  (no offense intended towards people who use it). Im not too good at BASIC anyway, never really managed to get good at coding at all. I am much better with the design parts rather than coding which is why I want someone to do the coding.

Fair enough - each persons language to their own. Don't say that to Sean McManus though, cause his stuff which is a mixture of Assembly and BASIC really does demonstrate how a little Assembly or simply applying assembly routines can really transform programs. His whole legacy in Type-ins and Public Domain programs demonstrates this! 

Though you should check out Sorceror's Castle by Jonathan Pugh from September 1990 ACU - which should be on ACU90B.DSK under the name SORCEROR. Just because you mentioned Dizzy reminded me of this game, even though it's not really collect, use sort of game - just collecting orbs and avoiding the monsters! 

Otherwise use whatever language you prefer! 

[Executioner]

I believe it was down to the way it handled the extra 64k, just using OUTs and reading/writing data.

Really it should have gone through some rsx handler functions to ensure data was valid for basic when it returned.

I don't know why it didn't show the problem under emulation.

WinAPE emulates the OUTs for bank switching in the same way as the CPC, it should work. The only thing I can think of is it was using a Plus BASIC or 464 BASIC/firmware and used direct access to BASIC/firmware.

[norecess]

@executionner about Winape, please make it real-time, cf. if bank C4 is selected BY CODE, the combobox in debug info is not refreshed (cf. will still be C0)

[TFM]

Eternal Light was coded with WinApe, and sadly never tested on a real CPC.
Afaik it doesn't run on a real CPC.

OMG!!! Did we finally reach this point

[Executioner]

@executionner about Winape, please make it real-time, cf. if bank C4 is selected BY CODE, the combobox in debug info is not refreshed (cf. will still be C0)

On the TODO list...

[Executioner]

Eternal Light was coded with WinApe, and sadly never tested on a real CPC.
Afaik it doesn't run on a real CPC.

Can anyone tell me why it doesn't work on a real CPC? Does it work on other emulators?

[mr_lou]

I don't know the exact reason. I only know that the author never used a real CPC when developing. He only used WinAPE, and thus never tested on a real device.
It was only when it was finished, that surprisingly few people noticed that it didn't run on a real CPC. (Meaning, most of the users in here use emulators).

It would be cool if someone could fix it so it ran on a real CPC.