Hi!
I have started a new project: The Heart of Salamanderland (working title, but my younger boy is writing the script so it is likely to stay; not sure if Salamander land are two words actually :laugh:).
An platformer with some basic puzzles with a few screens to explore, and things to do in them :)
Targeting 64K in a single load, but I'm not 100% sure at this point because it is possible I'm not using the right engine (what a surprise!), but hopefully I'll be able to cram enough content for a nice game.
Screenshot_2023-11-23_22-16-33.png
A video of what I have so far:
https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111462110851691559
I've been reading the fantasy books my Brandon Mull (Fablehaven and Dragonwatch), and I love the mood so the main character is more Patton Burgess than Indiana Jones; although there's obviously a whip (like in Castlevania; *hint* *hint*).
I'm excited and looking forward to see where I go with this one. I tend to update on my Mastodon account (https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac) (left Twitter/X or whatever name the space Karen is using now), and I'll post here as I see things take shape.
That looks very cool.
You've crammed a lot of personality into those sprites!
I love the title and theme of the game
Oh yay! A new reidrac title! (speaking of titles, keep it as one word, sounds more quirky and 80s-like :D )
Oh nice one Juan! I've killed many hours playing some of your games (especially Dawn Of Kernel)
Love that you target 64k users as well (I'm primarily a 464 user who still loads from tape (via TZXDuino to save my tape deck!)
Looking forward to seeing this come to fruition!
Good to see the kids are getting into the 'family business' :D
S.
Slow-ish progress, but progress nonetheless!
For example, levers: https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111511831246220485
Still WIP, of course.
I spent a couple of days implementing "the ultimate meta-tiles map renderer" and it works great, saving a lot of space (about a 73% of the space used by 4-bit per tile, both cases using compression on top of that). Meta-tiles tend to make the level design harder, but with meta-tiles of variable size isn't that bad, actually.
More to come!
Interested in your meta-tiles implementation, I always like reading about space-saving techniques.
Quote from: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 14:56, 04 December 23Interested in your meta-tiles implementation, I always like reading about space-saving techniques.
I wrote about it some time ago: https://www.usebox.net/jjm/blog/encoding-schemes-for-map-data/
The information regarding meta-tiles is the same, the difference is that now I use variable size tiles. You have a tilemap, as in fixed size tiles, but the meta-tile information includes width and height and a variable number of tiles.
For example: 1, 2, 10, 11 is a meta-tile of width 1 and height 2 tiles, and the tiles are 10 and 12.
And that's it, really. You can define as many meta-tiles as you want, and the bigger the meta tiles, the more savings you'll have when compressing the map data.
Then I made a script to generate images from a meta-tiles definition so it is easier to compose the maps using tiled.
Quote from: reidrac on 17:48, 02 December 23Slow-ish progress, but progress nonetheless!
For example, levers: https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111511831246220485
Is it just me, or does the protagonist look
really angry and annoyed about something? :laugh:
Quote from: Nich on 20:38, 04 December 23Quote from: reidrac on 17:48, 02 December 23Slow-ish progress, but progress nonetheless!
For example, levers: https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111511831246220485
Is it just me, or does the protagonist look really angry and annoyed about something? :laugh:
It is you, Nich.
I didn't know if I was going to let the player character crouch because, you know, memory constraints. But then my son asked but, shouldn't he be able to crouch?.
So yep. Can't whip when crouching, which... doesn't look too bad? I'll think about it. Memory is scarce, but crouching adds to the level design.
https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111530325411747056
That looks amazing!
I think it's quite logical that you can't whip when you crouch. And it could add a nice touch to the level design, where you have to properly plan your actions.
Quote from: eto on 18:35, 06 December 23That looks amazing!
I think it's quite logical that you can't whip when you crouch. And it could add a nice touch to the level design, where you have to properly plan your actions.
Thank you!
There isn't much space so there is not a lot of difference between crouching and standing. Less than a 33% :D
It looks OK as it is, and I'm running out of memory, so yep!
Quote from: Nich on 20:38, 04 December 23Quote from: reidrac on 17:48, 02 December 23Slow-ish progress, but progress nonetheless!
For example, levers: https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111511831246220485
Is it just me, or does the protagonist look really angry and annoyed about something? :laugh:
It's not just you. I can see it as well.
Like a ticket inspector who's pissed off after catching the guy who hopped on the bus without paying! :laugh: :laugh:
Ticket Please! (https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/959266c0-3d2f-4d19-94e8-1f0bf147267f#ZjZnQLRY.copy)
(Sorry Juan, now you'll see it and won't be able to unsee it!)
Quote from: Shaun M. Neary on 13:04, 07 December 23(Sorry Juan, now you'll see it and won't be able to unsee it!)
No, it is not :D But you can see whatever you want, of course.
The character is based on Patton Burgess from Fairhaven lore, born in 1850. He showcases a mustache typical of early 1900s.
On a 8 by 24 pixel sprite, what do you expect?
I guess when the loading screen is done, it will be clearer what I tried to draw :D
Added a demon enemy.
Screenshot_2023-12-09_13-06-57.png
A short video:
https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111550598979735050
So that's 5 enemy types so far, and I'm short of memory already (a bit over 8.5K). There's a placeholder for the music and effects already, but say I need around 7K for the map... it is going to be tight!
I may try to squeeze in another enemy type as long as is not expensive, but I'm getting to the end of the road.
The alternative would be moving to Kitsune's Curse engine, and that would give me back around 10K; with the downside that is slower (less things moving on screen). I am going continue until I run out of RAM and then, if it is clear the game is too small, I can swap engines.
Quick update
I have been making changes all week, adding functionality, polishing and fixing bugs, and always over 9K free.
Today I added a new enemy and we are under 9K now :-\ Which is expected!
I have placeholder for tiles, music and effects, so that means we are getting to the end of the road (yes, I know I said it before, but this time is true :D).
I'm about to start with the level design and we'll see then how much is left for "extras".
Short video showing the last enemy (and the new HUD, and a few other new things I guess): https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111620608111244509
Levers code revisited (finished?)
This should have been easier, but this last week has been complicated.
Anyway; I had levers mostly working, but not really because it didn't show the effect resulting from activating the levers. Now it does :)
If the effect is in the same screen, well... that was easy (not trivial mind, because the double buffer). And now if the effect is on a different screen, you get to see what screen and what was the result!
Short video on masto: https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111715257112040553
And now with sound effects! :D
https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111722751388114690
It seems to have a touch of Montezuma's Revenge about it, which is a game I always liked. Looks like another winner; I'm looking forward to it!
A bit slow progress, but getting there.
0dad039018f647ba.png
When I finish this tileset, I think I have all I need to start with the level design!
Cleaned the tileset, this is starting to look good (if I say so myself).
https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/111920914254987596
The idea is to use the mountains as a small introduction to get to the entry of the dungeon where most of the game will be played. I'm still undecided, but likely to be a map and a key to enter the thing.
Very cute, and also I like the fact that you got your own distinct style.
Quote from: Gryzor on 13:07, 13 February 24Very cute, and also I like the fact that you got your own distinct style.
Thank you!
Having my style is something I can't really avoid; I see some people have mentioned already that "it looks similar to some of his previous games". Well, OK. Either that or I stop making games :D
It's nice to have your own identity, this also means quality.
I think that we all agree that we recognize game developers of the past from a single 10x10 screenshot block, right?
Right.
When you see a game from Reidrac, there's no mistaking it for something else. Is that bad? Yeah, let's ask Cecco😁
Quote from: reidrac on 13:50, 13 February 24Having my style is something I can't really avoid; I see some people have mentioned already that "it looks similar to some of his previous games".
Your style is unique - and imho if your games would have existed in the 80s, their style would have been a "quality symbol" on its own like e.g. the Dizzy character. You could have easily defined the "Roland" character with that style - and it would have a real identity - not like the Roland characters from all those unrelated games (I like some of the games a lot - but "Roland" was no real character).
Also your games perfectly fit the CPCs capabilities - the graphics, the sprites, the screens, the sound - it looks and feels like a perfect harmony.
E.g. Brick Rick is a perfect arcade game - it could be a port of a successful arcade machine - and it's one of my "all-time favorites" on the Amstrad CPC. And (although I really like and play many of the recently released games) it's the only "new" game that reached that status of an all-time favorite.
(https://i.ibb.co/D8hYSF6/417418492-1423109895302774-4903149283282680949-n.jpg)
I see this cool screen on FB
Quick update!
I had the news of Titan contributing a loading screen, but it was posted to the thread before I could do it. I can share the new menu screen though.
Screenshot_2024-03-11_08-08-18.png
The level design is progressing well, although I'm always keeping an eye on the memory because this is going to be very tight.
Currently I have 16 screens (using 1371 bytes, 85.69 bytes average). Projecting on those numbers I could include 60 screens and still have 3.1K to finish a few things that are missing, but if is necessary I wouldn't mind having less screens.
Which means that I need to tackle those unfinished bits before I'm too deep in the level design, in case I need the memory! :D
Short announcement!
Poly Play is keen to publish a Collector's Editor of the game, cassette, 3" (limited stock) and 3.5". More news as I know more.
I'm excited because my last physical edition for the CPC was Kitsune's Curse and Brick Rick 4 years ago.
As always there will be a free download on my site, so everybody would be able to enjoy the game. The physical edition is obviously icing on top, and you know how nice Poly Play's editions are.
Poly Play is producing really, really nice packages!
Quote from: reidrac on 14:25, 14 March 24Poly Play is keen to publish a Collector's Editor of the game, cassette, 3" (limited stock) and 3.5". More news as I know more.
Nice news :-)
They should also consider putting all your games into a (kind of) "Hit Pak" collection pack.
Quote from: eto on 18:18, 14 March 24Quote from: reidrac on 14:25, 14 March 24Poly Play is keen to publish a Collector's Editor of the game, cassette, 3" (limited stock) and 3.5". More news as I know more.
Nice news :-)
They should also consider putting all your games into a (kind of) "Hit Pak" collection pack.
Ohhh yes indeed although I guess most potential buyers will have bought them already. Maybe instead of a re-release at some point?
Quote from: XeNoMoRPH on 06:28, 21 February 24(https://i.ibb.co/D8hYSF6/417418492-1423109895302774-4903149283282680949-n.jpg)
I see this cool screen on FB
is Titan here in the forum?
Memory is tight, but so far it seems possible that I will be able to cram it all in 64K AND single load.
4cdb55c076ec3e2a.png
What is this room? Is that a constellation? May be a clue to find the Heart of Salamanderland?
I don't know, but find the 9 Tears of The Guardian and come back to this room to find out!
I'm also trying to not make it too hard (of which I think I have been a bit guilty in the past), although I can tell you it won't be easy either! :D
Happy to announce that I have a beta!
It is still missing the music, but the game is complete and can be played from beginning to end, including... everything :D
So things are going very well. I can allow time for testing and to write some tunes, when I'm back from holidays.
So the game could be out in early May, although I need to check with Poly Play so we can sync the releases. Exciting!
Quick update!
Testing is going well, bugs are being found and fixed! :D
The game has a website now: https://www.usebox.net/jjm/heart-of-salamanderland/
The release date will be in May!
Progress on the music!
https://social.sdf.org/@reidrac/112351105220854152
957 bytes left, we are getting to the end! :D
Good news! Free some "me time" next weekend, just in case ;)
Awesome. Is it in-game or titles only?
Quote from: dodogildo on 18:26, 12 May 24Awesome. Is it in-game or titles only?
My games always have menu, in game and game over tunes; at least.
This one has one extra tune for the boss fight.
Great! Can't wait.
Doing some last minute pleasure testing with my kids!
https://mastodon.sdf.org/@reidrac/112440343822086939
229bafa28610a306.jpg
I'm SO looking forward to it.
The game has been released!
Go and get it: https://www.usebox.net/jjm/heart-of-salamanderland/
Includes DSK, CDT and CPR (although is just the same as the DSK, the game controls are GX4000 compatible). Also a manual, read it! :D
(I didn't include tips & tricks, but this game -like Brick Rick- has "coyote time", which means you can jump very late; and you will need it)
Thanks so much Juan, amazing as usual!! Hope to try an enjoy it during this weekend, if my health problemas give a respite
Quote from: SpDizzy on 12:50, 17 May 24Thanks so much Juan, amazing as usual!! Hope to try an enjoy it during this weekend, if my health problemas give a respite
I hope you get well soon!
Someone reported issues with a 6128+.
Looks like sync problems with the split screen. Not sure if is something I did wrong or related to his monitor. I think I'm doing the same split I did in Hyperdrive, and obviously I have tested it with real hardware (but I don't have a lot of hardware to test, definitely not a 6128+).
Any issues, please let me know!
This is brilliant!
Really great job.
Thanks for the video, but that capture isn't amazing TBH.
The game doesn't play like that thankfully :D
Quote from: reidrac on 17:36, 17 May 24Thanks for the video, but that capture isn't amazing TBH.
The game doesn't play like that thankfully :D
I also have the possibility of capturing the game from a real machine, although for ease of use I use emulator.
Very nice game
@reidrac 8)
Sadly, here is the result on my real GX4000.
I think there is a little display problem :'(
Quote from: iXien on 20:16, 17 May 24Very nice game @reidrac 8)
Sadly, here is the result on my real GX4000.
I think there is a little display problem :'(
Thanks for the report! That matches what the person with the 6128+ reported.
I'll take a look at the screen split to see where I may have the bug. Can I count with your for testing? I can't reproduce the issue with my hardware.
Sent you a PM with a link!
Yes, there's something wrong in my split and, so far, seems to show in the GX4000 and the 6128+ (I suspect the 464+ will do as well).
I'll fix it ASAP; meanwhile, emulators work. And at least my 464 as well :D
Edit: I'm told the MiSTer can reproduce the issue!
I'm waiting for
@iXien's confirmation on the GX4000 (the guy with the 6128 already said the fix worked for him), but I'm almost 100% confident the bug is fixed.
I have updated the game to 1.0.1 on the website, and is likely to be important only for people playing on the real hardware *if they had issues*.
In any case,
update your copy to the 1.0.1 because it is better :picard:
Ironically, the fixed code uses over 100 bytes less than the bad code.
Quote from: reidrac on 08:45, 18 May 24I'm waiting for @iXien's confirmation on the GX4000 (the guy with the 6128 already said the fix worked for him), but I'm almost 100% confident the bug is fixed.
I have updated the game to 1.0.1 on the website, and is likely to be important only for people playing on the real hardware *if they had issues*.
In any case, update your copy to the 1.0.1 because it is better :picard:
Ironically, the fixed code uses over 100 bytes less than the bad code.
All is ok now to enjoy this so cute game on our beloved GX4000. Well done
@reidrac ! ;)
This is a good video showing how I implemented "coyote time": https://betweenthelions.link/@ne1for23/112476697017662705
I have released version 1.0.2 with a small bug fix :picard:
You can get it from the website: https://www.usebox.net/jjm/heart-of-salamanderland/
(the readme.pdf has history of what was fixed when)
Quote from: reidrac on 12:14, 04 June 24I have released version 1.0.2 with a small bug fix :picard:
You can get it from the website: https://www.usebox.net/jjm/heart-of-salamanderland/
(the readme.pdf has history of what was fixed when)
Hello,
I tried the game and it looks very nice. I detected a bug (or maybe is intended), when you fall in a hole you can still jump, so you can jump being on top of thin air.
Other comment which is just personal taste, the fade-out/fade-in when changing screen is a nice effect, but I would prefer 100% that the change happens faster without the effect, in order to make the game more fluid. Maybe there is an intermediate point making the fade much faster, but personally I prefer no fade at all.
Regards
Quote from: abalore on 12:32, 04 June 24Hello,
I tried the game and it looks very nice. I detected a bug (or maybe is intended), when you fall in a hole you can still jump, so you can jump being on top of thin air.
Other comment which is just personal taste, the fade-out/fade-in when changing screen is a nice effect, but I would prefer 100% that the change happens faster without the effect, in order to make the game more fluid. Maybe there is an intermediate point making the fade much faster, but personally I prefer no fade at all.
Regards
The jump is on purpose! I like the gravity to be "heavy", but then the jumps can be a bit too hard, so I added "coyote time" so you can jump very late.
RE: the fade in/out was added to make it look nicer. Because the 64K limitation I have to use one of the back buffers as working memory when uncompressing the map data, etc; which means I need to compose the scene in the active (and visible) buffer. I had to switch off the screen; but then I couldn't do it fast enough and there was like a "blink" that was very annoying so I decided to embrace the limitation and add the fade in/out.
It also makes the camera change when using a lever that activates stuff on a different screen much nicer (IMHO).
I usually don't like those effects, but considering that I couldn't do it in any other way, it has grown on me over time. I tried to avoid screen designs that could require frequent screen changes (e.g. jumping in and out), to make it as acceptable as possible.
I've updated the game to version 1.0.3, fixing a bug that... to be honest, is very confusing.
Essentially there has been a bug from first release that could crash the game after a game over (never goes back to the menu), but only after 1.0.2 was kind of frequent. To the point that it was happening 100% and I didn't notice when I did the release :picard:
So that version has been broken on the website for 20 days, but nobody has reported anything until today. I guess people are still playing... not the latest version? Or not playing at all ;D Which is fine.
Anyway, the version on the website is fine now.
Thanks for the update!
I guess that most of us just download games once (usually the first release), and unless we find a bug which prevents us to finish the game we don't look for any update. And that is when we finally find some time to really play the game, not only loading and checking the music and first screen :D
BTW, I thought you went too far with pixel perfect jumps until I learnt about "coyote time". Nice feature.
Quote from: ago on 09:08, 24 June 24Thanks for the update!
I guess that most of us just download games once (usually the first release), and unless we find a bug which prevents us to finish the game we don't look for any update. And that is when we finally find some time to really play the game, not only loading and checking the music and first screen :D
BTW, I thought you went too far with pixel perfect jumps until I learnt about "coyote time". Nice feature.
Yes, I totally get that. Besides the game gets "mirrored" and "preserved" in a few places that not always update the game ASAP (if ever!), and I guess people go to CPC Power to get the games instead of my website :-\
We did a lot of testing, but there's always a chance that something slips though and, as you say, if is not critical... people may not even notice let alone bother updating the game :D
not to mention that I'm not sure if I will ever finish it ;-)
Quote from: eto on 11:21, 24 June 24not to mention that I'm not sure if I will ever finish it ;-)
The bugs were not in the normal path to complete the game :D
Quote from: reidrac on 09:35, 24 June 24Besides the game gets "mirrored" and "preserved" in a few places that not always update the game ASAP (if ever!), and I guess people go to CPC Power to get the games instead of my website :-\
Well, at least NVG has been updated with the new version! ;)
FYI: the game was reviewed in Retro Planet issue 45.
It is a Greek magazine and I can't read Greek, but 8.5/10 is nice and something-something AAA game that I guess is good as well :D
NICE
Btw: Will it still be released on disk by Polyplay?
Quote from: eto on 13:31, 30 September 24NICE
Btw: Will it still be released on disk by Polyplay?
Yes, there will be a physical release.
Unfortunately it has all been delayed because of the cover art. First there wasn't an artist and then, when we had one, they had bike accident that had them unable to draw for some time.
I don't know what is the current state, but the game and the copy for the manual, box, etc have been ready for a couple of months already.
I hope it will be out before the end of the year.
End of year is approaching :D Any news?
The manual art is done, and the cover art has been two weeks away for a month now.
We are two weeks from Christmas holidays now, so it is unlikely we have it by then.
Sorry, this is all I can say at this point :'(
No pressure, was just wondering🙂
Just watched the youtube video of this - looks very pretty, great job! At some point in the next few months I'll dig out one of my CPCs and give it a try.
I'm losing hope here!
We have art for the manual, but not a finished cover. The game is starting to be a bit "old news", at least for me.
As I say, I'm not sure this is happening. Poly may want to see if there is some interest, or may be is best to call it off :(
Quote from: reidrac on 07:45, 19 April 25I'm losing hope here!
We have art for the manual, but not a finished cover. The game is starting to be a bit "old news", at least for me.
As I say, I'm not sure this is happening. Poly may want to see if there is some interest, or may be is best to call it off :(
That's too bad :(
Figures😊