Magic Pockets remake - work started

[gimbal]

when I feel like it.

A variant of "when it's done", I can respect that Good to know you are still alive.

[jotd]

Originally Posted by gimbal

A variant of "when it's done", I can respect that Good to know you are still alive.

oh there's no aggressivity intended. I'm just fed up with this project ATM, but I'm sure it will be better in a few weeks. For now I don't feel like coding.
But I would love to release a playable demo. I just can't ATM

[gimbal]

oh there's no aggressivity intended

Errr, there was none implied. "When it's done" is the most sane release date. Deadline pressure is way too damaging to justify the supposed gain in efficiency while enduring it.

And the problem of being fed up with a project is very understandable and easily fixed: you need TWO projects

[jotd]

Thanks Gimbal, the 2-project thing is very true. However, after more than 6 months without any activity on this project, I'm presenting a "as-is" playable demo. A lot of bugs, no enemy A.I. but game mechanics are pretty much here, and I don't want to wait further, even if there's little hope that the project is completed one day.

enjoy: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/jotd/mag...ets/index.html

[TCD]

Thanks for sharing the version jotd Looks nice and with the source included not all hope is lost yet

[exoticaga]

Its a shame youre not continuing this atm. Are you shelving it for now with further continuation later (not to long). Or have you scrapped it never to be continued with, we hope for the later.

[jotd]

Originally Posted by exoticaga

Its a shame youre not continuing this atm. Are you shelving it for now with further continuation later (not to long). Or have you scrapped it never to be continued with, we hope for the later.

I haven't touched it in 6 months and I'm not sure if I can remake the whole games as I did with Gods: too much work.
I just want other ppl to see it (as they could have seen it 6 months before). I wish I could have added more features/fixed more bugs but it was just not possible.
I'm not sure about the interest of people for this game. I re-did this because 1) I had all the graphics ripped 2) I could re-use my Gods engine (but had to port it from Java to C++) and 3) I wanted to create a C++/SDL based game, maybe for ports on portable handhelds.

But I'd rather remake Chaos Engine or Cadaver if you ask

[humble worm]

heh, I love Magic Pockets and would love to see it remade, but if you could remake Cadaver... that would be really something!!!

Wouldnt it take much more work than MP?

[jotd]

For Cadaver I don't even have the gfx and could not rip them. Mavado proposed to try to rip them. I dunno if he succeeded.
On Gods Country site there are all the maps for all the Cadaver levels. I could rebuild all rooms from those shots and the precious tiles.

Cadaver would be tougher because of isometric stuff I'm not familiar with, object interaction, but there's no or very few A.I. for the enemies and the game could be remade perfectly I think.
But we're talking science fiction here

[Shoonay]

Great job there jotd, but... make it slower!
I didn't even finish those games you've remade on the Amiga!

[gimbal]

Cadaver would be tougher because of isometric stuff I'm not familiar with, object interaction, but there's no or very few A.I. for the enemies and the game could be remade perfectly I think.
But we're talking science fiction here

Yeah Cadaver is a piece of work. Even with the work I've done in my Last Ninja 2 remake, there are still a lot of things in it that completely leave me stumped how they pulled it off on an Amiga. Multiple layers, 100% accurate collision detection and depth sorting... Even the objects have isometric depth. Methinks that they painstakingly gave every object isometric collision box information by hand, I don't see how else you can give a 2D object 3D depth.

The idea of building an editor for it alone gives me a head ache.

[humble worm]

to sum it up - it's (almost)impossible to remake Cadaver... well, we still have emulators

[jotd]

Originally Posted by gimbal

Yeah Cadaver is a piece of work. Even with the work I've done in my Last Ninja 2 remake, there are still a lot of things in it that completely leave me stumped how they pulled it off on an Amiga. Multiple layers, 100% accurate collision detection and depth sorting... Even the objects have isometric depth. Methinks that they painstakingly gave every object isometric collision box information by hand, I don't see how else you can give a 2D object 3D depth.

The idea of building an editor for it alone gives me a head ache.

Yes, when you see how hard it is to remake a game using modern techniques (fast PCs, high level / object languages, lowlevel libs such as Java or SDL) it's hard to imagine how the original developers did.
I think there were a few, but very talented and hard-working professionals.

I also think that some games were not designed using an editor / data files for everything. Many things were code-driven, and they were not thinking about expansion packs when they were coding, but more about the deadline (which certainly explains self modifying code in Gods for instance)

I read that the Bros developped ACS (adventure coding language) for Cadaver. Must be a kind of SCUMM VM stuff. Too bad the engine / src has not been made public.

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by humble worm

to sum it up - it's (almost)impossible to remake Cadaver... well, we still have emulators

I am truly flattered by your response, as it basically says "gimbal cannot do it, so it is impossible"

[humble worm]

have to disappoint you, it was rather jotd's "science fiction" thingie

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by jotd

I also think that some games were not designed using an editor / data files for everything. Many things were code-driven, and they were not thinking about expansion packs when they were coding, but more about the deadline (which certainly explains self modifying code in Gods for instance)

I read that the Bros developped ACS (adventure coding language) for Cadaver. Must be a kind of SCUMM VM stuff. Too bad the engine / src has not been made public.

Cadaver must be driven by a sophisticated framework yes. You can clearly see it even has scripted events built into it, especially in the later levels where complex puzzles are used. The fact that it supports data disks (and several demo levels were built for magazines) tells me it is not code driven, it must have some kind of editor behind it.

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by humble worm

have to disappoint you, it was rather jotd's "science fiction" thingie

Grrr, quote who you are responding too. Now I am going to cry myself to sleep

[humble worm]

Originally Posted by gimbal

Cadaver must be driven by a sophisticated framework yes. You can clearly see it even has scripted events built into it, especially in the later levels where complex puzzles are used. The fact that it supports data disks (and several demo levels were built for magazines) tells me it is not code driven, it must have some kind of editor behind it.

one of the demos is different, quite different "mechanics" (a prototype?)

[jotd]

I told it was sci fi because it will be 2040 before I have the time to remake it

But maybe someone else will. I got an e-mail near 2002 from a guy who wanted to remake the game in C++. I guess he did not go very far. He succeeded in unpacking the data of the original game, which is good but it's only 1% of the work. However I regret not having asked him his code at the time.

[exoticaga]

You still desires to "create a C++/SDL based game, maybe for ports on portable handhelds."

I suppose you have to go with your own flow. Or suffer from the, i'm sure i missed something.