coders wanted for shenandoah - Page 4

DamienD · 12 March 2007, 12:03

If only the Amiga version was coming along as fast as the Windows version

derSammler · 12 March 2007, 12:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamienD

If only the Amiga version was coming along as fast as the Windows version

Even though I'm quite optimistic seeing how fast I was able to set up the basic functions for a shoot'em-up engine, I don't want to rise false hope that the Windows version is coming along fast. Estimating the time needed is rather hard at such an early point, but expect at least 4 to 6 months.

An Amiga version is even harder to do, as you have to take care of all kinds of limitations. Personally, I think it would be better to start the Amiga version from scratch instead of using the old code.

derSammler · 12 March 2007, 14:54

Started implementing the game mechanics, so the test level just became playable.

I'll probably compile a new tech demo this weekend.

Also got beam weapons working as shown in this screenshot:
(removed, outdated)

olandrobo · 12 March 2007, 15:16

So cool!

starlord · 12 March 2007, 17:04

Windows, I think it was quite rude of me for not finding the time to thank you for the amount of work done here!
so here goes: THANKS A HELL OF A LOT!!!

the project is working fine from what I see. Your names will go down in history for that.

derSammler · 12 March 2007, 17:14

No need to thank me, really.

It's great fun to help resurrecting an unreleased game. And I love programming, so...

starlord · 13 March 2007, 09:30

damiend: for the amiga version of shenandoah, perhaps a good way to port the game would be to program it via AMOS or BLITZ should they handle it.

derSammler · 13 March 2007, 10:19

Never used BlitzBasic on Amiga (or at all), so I can't say anything about, but I can assure you that AMOS isn't able to handle that game. Assembler or highly optimized C is the way to go for an Amiga version. Probably the reason why no one started doing it so far.

starlord · 13 March 2007, 10:38

Oh, well anyway, I'm quite confident that when the PC version will be completed, the amiga version will then appear quite quickly!

DamienD · 13 March 2007, 13:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by starlord

damiend: for the amiga version of shenandoah, perhaps a good way to port the game would be to program it via AMOS or BLITZ should they handle it.

If only I was a programmer and knew the languages required then I'd be most happy to assist

BippyM · 13 March 2007, 13:32

Blitz would only be viable if the speed critical parts (ie not menus etc) were done with asm using blitz's inline assembler

olandrobo · 13 March 2007, 14:25

The game was designed to be state of the art, not only gfx wise :P but from a programming point of view as well, thus we designed the game with a high number of sprites on screen at the same time, while still keeping the same bit depth and frame count. So speed was quite critical. This is how it was intended anyway.

Other features we planned was copper skies ( realtime hardware generated gradients).
Parallax scrolling.
Switching between bit depth during gameplay ( as seen in the demo where everything turns redish).
Randomized attackwaves.
Four player mode.

The latter ones might not be affected by the language chosen though.

starlord · 13 March 2007, 15:09

olandrobo: here's the link to the magazine who taught me of shenandoah's existence: http://www.insertdisk2.com/index.php?page=22

In the avant première section, you'll find the screenshot (so promissing, sooooo goood!!)

enjoy!

starlord · 13 March 2007, 15:11

Oh, sorry: the mag is amiga dream N°1.

olandrobo · 13 March 2007, 15:51

wow that was a small image...

starlord · 13 March 2007, 17:18

but VERY attractive!!
I especially loved all those blue domes which appearantly you could destroy.

derSammler · 14 March 2007, 12:24

Some new work-in-progress screenshots, the PC version is really coming along well.

This one was made yesterday, showing the first real enemy and a weapon power-up:
(removed, outdated)

This one was made just a few minutes ago, showing the range for the mine's proximity fuse (visible solely for debugging, of course):
(removed, outdated)

olandrobo · 14 March 2007, 13:58

Awesome!

The powerup should have the same blue shading as the enemy and mines. It belongs to the same palette.
The proximity fuse should probabbly be twice as big to be an effective threat.

Really good work!

derSammler · 14 March 2007, 14:24

Great you like it.

I know the range for the proximity fuse is a bit small, just haven't found the ideal range yet.

As for the power-up, I've created the sprite sheet for it before I had the correct graphics. Will be corrected soon, but I rather use the time to get the code doing what I want the code to do, which doesn't always work.

derSammler · 14 March 2007, 18:45

I really need to get rid of the bugs (found and fixed *a lot* of them today!), so here's a new public tech demo:

http://www.retro-net.de/shen_test_a2.rar

IMPORTANT: This one has been compiled to use the October 2006 update of DirectX 9.0c, hence you need the file "d3dx9_31.dll" in windows/system32. If you don't have it, you either need to update your DirectX installation or just download the DLL (Google will help you, it's easy to find).

Moreover, this is only a debug demo. There's some unusual stuff activated and it's not feature complete (e.g. no explosions, collision detection is only in place for bullets against enemies; player can't take damage etc). Just let me know if it runs at all, smooth and without bugs during gameplay.

12 March 2007, 14:54	#63
derSammler Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 1,645	Started implementing the game mechanics, so the test level just became playable. I'll probably compile a new tech demo this weekend. Also got beam weapons working as shown in this screenshot: (removed, outdated) Last edited by derSammler; 08 June 2007 at 15:46.

12 March 2007, 17:14	#66
derSammler Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 1,645	No need to thank me, really. It's great fun to help resurrecting an unreleased game. And I love programming, so... Last edited by derSammler; 12 March 2007 at 17:43.

13 March 2007, 15:51	#75
olandrobo artist Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Stockholm/sweden Posts: 130	mag wow that was a small image...

14 March 2007, 12:24	#77
derSammler Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 1,645	Some new work-in-progress screenshots, the PC version is really coming along well. This one was made yesterday, showing the first real enemy and a weapon power-up: (removed, outdated) This one was made just a few minutes ago, showing the range for the mine's proximity fuse (visible solely for debugging, of course): (removed, outdated) Last edited by derSammler; 08 June 2007 at 15:47.

14 March 2007, 18:45	#80
derSammler Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 1,645	I really need to get rid of the bugs (found and fixed a lot of them today!), so here's a new public tech demo: http://www.retro-net.de/shen_test_a2.rar IMPORTANT: This one has been compiled to use the October 2006 update of DirectX 9.0c, hence you need the file "d3dx9_31.dll" in windows/system32. If you don't have it, you either need to update your DirectX installation or just download the DLL (Google will help you, it's easy to find). Moreover, this is only a debug demo. There's some unusual stuff activated and it's not feature complete (e.g. no explosions, collision detection is only in place for bullets against enemies; player can't take damage etc). Just let me know if it runs at all, smooth and without bugs during gameplay. Last edited by derSammler; 14 March 2007 at 20:11.

12 March 2007, 12:03	#61
DamienD Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London / Sydney Age: 47 Posts: 20,420	If only the Amiga version was coming along as fast as the Windows version

12 March 2007, 15:16	#64
olandrobo artist Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Stockholm/sweden Posts: 130	So cool!

12 March 2007, 17:04	#65
starlord Zone Friend Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: france Posts: 209	Windows, I think it was quite rude of me for not finding the time to thank you for the amount of work done here! so here goes: THANKS A HELL OF A LOT!!! the project is working fine from what I see. Your names will go down in history for that.

13 March 2007, 09:30	#67
starlord Zone Friend Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: france Posts: 209	damiend: for the amiga version of shenandoah, perhaps a good way to port the game would be to program it via AMOS or BLITZ should they handle it.

13 March 2007, 10:19	#68
derSammler Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 1,645	Never used BlitzBasic on Amiga (or at all), so I can't say anything about, but I can assure you that AMOS isn't able to handle that game. Assembler or highly optimized C is the way to go for an Amiga version. Probably the reason why no one started doing it so far.

13 March 2007, 10:38	#69
starlord Zone Friend Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: france Posts: 209	Oh, well anyway, I'm quite confident that when the PC version will be completed, the amiga version will then appear quite quickly!

13 March 2007, 13:32	#71
BippyM Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Derby, UK Age: 48 Posts: 9,355	Blitz would only be viable if the speed critical parts (ie not menus etc) were done with asm using blitz's inline assembler

13 March 2007, 14:25	#72
olandrobo artist Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Stockholm/sweden Posts: 130	The game was designed to be state of the art, not only gfx wise :P but from a programming point of view as well, thus we designed the game with a high number of sprites on screen at the same time, while still keeping the same bit depth and frame count. So speed was quite critical. This is how it was intended anyway. Other features we planned was copper skies ( realtime hardware generated gradients). Parallax scrolling. Switching between bit depth during gameplay ( as seen in the demo where everything turns redish). Randomized attackwaves. Four player mode. The latter ones might not be affected by the language chosen though.

13 March 2007, 15:09	#73
starlord Zone Friend Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: france Posts: 209	olandrobo: here's the link to the magazine who taught me of shenandoah's existence: http://www.insertdisk2.com/index.php?page=22 In the avant première section, you'll find the screenshot (so promissing, sooooo goood!!) enjoy!

13 March 2007, 15:11	#74
starlord Zone Friend Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: france Posts: 209	Oh, sorry: the mag is amiga dream N°1.

13 March 2007, 17:18	#76
starlord Zone Friend Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: france Posts: 209	but VERY attractive!! I especially loved all those blue domes which appearantly you could destroy.

14 March 2007, 13:58	#78
olandrobo artist Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Stockholm/sweden Posts: 130	Awesome! The powerup should have the same blue shading as the enemy and mines. It belongs to the same palette. The proximity fuse should probabbly be twice as big to be an effective threat. Really good work!

14 March 2007, 14:24	#79
derSammler Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 1,645	Great you like it. I know the range for the proximity fuse is a bit small, just haven't found the ideal range yet. As for the power-up, I've created the sprite sheet for it before I had the correct graphics. Will be corrected soon, but I rather use the time to get the code doing what I want the code to do, which doesn't always work.

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