Dan Scott's (Dan/Anarchy) game memories!

vulture · 03 March 2016, 09:00

Welcome to the boards Dan!

I hope you can share some of your memories with us and maybe some technical details as well.

I'll start with 2 questions:

- Was Wonder Dog's game engine based on the Chuck Rock II one?

- How was it to work at Core back then?

Thx!

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 09:21

- Was Wonder Dog's game engine based on the Chuck Rock II one?

Yes, basically it was the same engine, with just a few little tweaks added, but most of the code in Chuck Rock 2 was usable for Wonderdog too. I can't remember if I needed to add a great deal to the engine, in fact I think I took out more than I added (the swinging rope code for example). I was able to turn this project around in about 3 months, with the majority of the hard work being for the artist to convert the Mega CD graphics to work in 7 colours per playfield. I think there were some elements we had to remove from the Mega CD version, that required a bit of work changing the maps too (the big shifting areas of foreground scenery if I recall correctly...)

I also think there was a bug in the released game.. I think you can move the main character around with the cursor keys when in the bonus rooms ?

- How was it to work at Core back then?

It was great. There's never been another place quite like it (and I've worked in a few places now). We were given plenty of opportunity to experiment with code and ideas, and everyone had a free say in what would go into the games (unlike now, where game production is basically a production line, with everyone being told what to do....).

It was also a relatively small company when I start there.. maybe 20 or 25 people working there in total, so everyone knew everyone else personally, and there was also a really good social scene outside of work hours

vulture · 03 March 2016, 09:34

Was Chuck Rock II first developed on Amiga then ported to Mega Drive or vice versa?

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 09:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by vulture

Was Chuck Rock II first developed on Amiga then ported to Mega Drive or vice versa?

Chuck 2 development started briefly on Megadrive, before that team had to move on to Wonderdog. When Wonderdog was finished, they moved back to Chuck 2 on Megadrive, and I was asked if I wanted to handle the Amiga version. Both versions were developed simultaneously, with some code where possible being shared between the 2 versions.

I remember that the Megadrive coder had added that HUGE dinosaur that walks across the first stage, and I just HAD to try and get that working on the Amiga too

Had to drop the frame rate to 25fps for that unfortunately...

dlfrsilver · 03 March 2016, 10:33

Hello Dan, and welcome over EAB

I have one question, do you know exactly when Core's boss, Mr Heath-Smith, decided to stop any productions of games on the Atari ST ?

And your view also about the differences between the Amiga and the ST, what the gap that large between them ?

Thanks !

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 10:45

I am guessing around the end of 1991, beginning of 1992 was the last Atari ST release from Core?

I worked a little on Heimdall and Wolfchild (the intro sequence) for the ST, and I think that Wolfchild was probably the last release (or maybe Thunderhawk)

There's no question that the Amiga is far far technically superior to the Atari ST. In terms of Colours, Bitplanes, Blitter, Sprites, Audio etc.. it wins hands down, other than that the ST has a marginally faster CPU. I guess with large amounts of pre-calculated data, and some clever coding, the ST could produce some technically impressive stuff (I've seen some nice fairly recent demos)

s2325 · 03 March 2016, 11:13

Could you tell me why only Master System version of Chuck Rock 2 have additional levels?

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 11:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by s2325

Could you tell me why only Master System version of Chuck Rock 2 have additional levels?

I have no idea.. which levels does it have ? (I know it has the river race, that the Amiga does not have, but the Megadrive has that river race too)

vulture · 03 March 2016, 12:29

Any memory why the river race was cut from the Amiga version? Technical reasons or to save some disk space or....? Also, I think I recall Chuck Rock on MD has some lava fx and the Amiga version doesn't, was it technically difficult to implement that on miggy? Having seen the earlier "waterfalls" level having similar fx on the Amiga version, I thought the lava ones would be possible as well.
Thx!

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 13:18

Any memory why the river race was cut from the Amiga version?

Time constraints... the Megadrive team already had a major headstart as their engine was practically finished from Wonderdog. I had to code the Amiga engine from the ground up (much of the work in my previous game Premiere was unusable, apart from the copper split 8 way scroll routines)

There may be some other differences between the Megadrive and Amiga too, I am sure mainly due to lack of time to get things implemented.

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 13:27

Also, I think I recall Chuck Rock on MD has some lava fx and the Amiga version doesn't, was it technically difficult to implement that on miggy? Having seen the earlier "waterfalls" level having similar fx on the Amiga version, I thought the lava ones would be possible as well.

Again, more than likely time constraints... also the MD can shift a lot more sprites around easily, and with it's character mapped playfields, makes it really quick and easy to animate large chunks of scenery

vulture · 03 March 2016, 13:28

So, what are you doing nowadays Dan? Still in the industry? Have you kept any Amiga systems around or just emulation?

CodyJarrett · 03 March 2016, 13:30

Did you work on any Amiga games that were not released?

invent · 03 March 2016, 13:42

Some links

http://hol.abime.net/1749

[ Show youtube player ]

Welcome Dan

mc68060 · 03 March 2016, 14:38

Hey Dan,

do you still have any files from your Amiga days? (game source code, sprites, pictures, level editors, inhouse development tools...)

Thanks!

s2325 · 03 March 2016, 15:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanScott

I have no idea.. which levels does it have ? (I know it has the river race, that the Amiga does not have, but the Megadrive has that river race too)

I don't remember Fruit Mountain level in Amiga version [ Show youtube player ]

jizmo · 03 March 2016, 15:41

Dan, good to have you aboard.

You're one of the demo coders to have successfully made it to gaming world. Was the move easy for you and what setbacks you had if any? Did your demo background help you or did you have to make big adjustments on how you code and work?

Also, what I'd like to know is when is that new Anarchy demo coming out? It's long due, you know..

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by vulture

So, what are you doing nowadays Dan? Still in the industry? Have you kept any Amiga systems around or just emulation?

I was in the industry until about 18 months ago, when I was made redundant for the 3rd time.. I am now a little disenchanted with the whole game industry.

I now run an online vinyl record store, and spend my time between the UK, and Serbia

http://www.discogs.com/seller/dansauk

I still have my old A500 at home, but it's seen better days.. Don't know if it would even power up now

DanScott · 03 March 2016, 16:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by CodyJarrett

Did you work on any Amiga games that were not released?

Just a few prototype things, nothing anywhere nearing a full playable game

CodyJarrett · 03 March 2016, 16:00

Do you still have any graphics or early versions of your prototypes?

03 March 2016, 09:00	#1
vulture Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Athens , Greece Posts: 1,840	Dan Scott's (Dan/Anarchy) game memories! Welcome to the boards Dan! I hope you can share some of your memories with us and maybe some technical details as well. I'll start with 2 questions: - Was Wonder Dog's game engine based on the Chuck Rock II one? - How was it to work at Core back then? Thx!

03 March 2016, 09:21	#2
DanScott Lemon. / Core Design Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Tier 5 Posts: 1,212	- Was Wonder Dog's game engine based on the Chuck Rock II one? Yes, basically it was the same engine, with just a few little tweaks added, but most of the code in Chuck Rock 2 was usable for Wonderdog too. I can't remember if I needed to add a great deal to the engine, in fact I think I took out more than I added (the swinging rope code for example). I was able to turn this project around in about 3 months, with the majority of the hard work being for the artist to convert the Mega CD graphics to work in 7 colours per playfield. I think there were some elements we had to remove from the Mega CD version, that required a bit of work changing the maps too (the big shifting areas of foreground scenery if I recall correctly...) I also think there was a bug in the released game.. I think you can move the main character around with the cursor keys when in the bonus rooms ? - How was it to work at Core back then? It was great. There's never been another place quite like it (and I've worked in a few places now). We were given plenty of opportunity to experiment with code and ideas, and everyone had a free say in what would go into the games (unlike now, where game production is basically a production line, with everyone being told what to do....). It was also a relatively small company when I start there.. maybe 20 or 25 people working there in total, so everyone knew everyone else personally, and there was also a really good social scene outside of work hours Last edited by DanScott; 03 March 2016 at 09:26.

03 March 2016, 12:29	#9
vulture Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Athens , Greece Posts: 1,840	Any memory why the river race was cut from the Amiga version? Technical reasons or to save some disk space or....? Also, I think I recall Chuck Rock on MD has some lava fx and the Amiga version doesn't, was it technically difficult to implement that on miggy? Having seen the earlier "waterfalls" level having similar fx on the Amiga version, I thought the lava ones would be possible as well. Thx! Last edited by vulture; 03 March 2016 at 12:40.

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03 March 2016, 09:34	#3
vulture Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Athens , Greece Posts: 1,840	Was Chuck Rock II first developed on Amiga then ported to Mega Drive or vice versa?

03 March 2016, 10:33	#5
dlfrsilver CaptainM68K-SPS France Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Melun nearby Paris/France Age: 46 Posts: 10,412	Hello Dan, and welcome over EAB I have one question, do you know exactly when Core's boss, Mr Heath-Smith, decided to stop any productions of games on the Atari ST ? And your view also about the differences between the Amiga and the ST, what the gap that large between them ? Thanks !

03 March 2016, 10:45	#6
DanScott Lemon. / Core Design Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Tier 5 Posts: 1,212	I am guessing around the end of 1991, beginning of 1992 was the last Atari ST release from Core? I worked a little on Heimdall and Wolfchild (the intro sequence) for the ST, and I think that Wolfchild was probably the last release (or maybe Thunderhawk) There's no question that the Amiga is far far technically superior to the Atari ST. In terms of Colours, Bitplanes, Blitter, Sprites, Audio etc.. it wins hands down, other than that the ST has a marginally faster CPU. I guess with large amounts of pre-calculated data, and some clever coding, the ST could produce some technically impressive stuff (I've seen some nice fairly recent demos)

03 March 2016, 11:13	#7
s2325 Zone Friend Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Gargore Age: 43 Posts: 17,789	Could you tell me why only Master System version of Chuck Rock 2 have additional levels?

03 March 2016, 13:18	#10
DanScott Lemon. / Core Design Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Tier 5 Posts: 1,212	Any memory why the river race was cut from the Amiga version? Time constraints... the Megadrive team already had a major headstart as their engine was practically finished from Wonderdog. I had to code the Amiga engine from the ground up (much of the work in my previous game Premiere was unusable, apart from the copper split 8 way scroll routines) There may be some other differences between the Megadrive and Amiga too, I am sure mainly due to lack of time to get things implemented.

03 March 2016, 13:27	#11
DanScott Lemon. / Core Design Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Tier 5 Posts: 1,212	Also, I think I recall Chuck Rock on MD has some lava fx and the Amiga version doesn't, was it technically difficult to implement that on miggy? Having seen the earlier "waterfalls" level having similar fx on the Amiga version, I thought the lava ones would be possible as well. Again, more than likely time constraints... also the MD can shift a lot more sprites around easily, and with it's character mapped playfields, makes it really quick and easy to animate large chunks of scenery

03 March 2016, 13:28	#12
vulture Registered User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Athens , Greece Posts: 1,840	So, what are you doing nowadays Dan? Still in the industry? Have you kept any Amiga systems around or just emulation?

03 March 2016, 13:30	#13
CodyJarrett Global Moderator Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: UK Age: 46 Posts: 6,160	Did you work on any Amiga games that were not released?

03 March 2016, 13:42	#14
invent pixels Join Date: May 2014 Location: Australia Age: 52 Posts: 476	Some links http://hol.abime.net/1749 [ Show youtube player ] Welcome Dan

03 March 2016, 14:38	#15
mc68060 With MMU and FPU! Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: On your mainboard Posts: 270	Hey Dan, do you still have any files from your Amiga days? (game source code, sprites, pictures, level editors, inhouse development tools...) Thanks!

03 March 2016, 15:41	#17
jizmo Registered Abuser Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Valencia / Spain Posts: 361	Dan, good to have you aboard. You're one of the demo coders to have successfully made it to gaming world. Was the move easy for you and what setbacks you had if any? Did your demo background help you or did you have to make big adjustments on how you code and work? Also, what I'd like to know is when is that new Anarchy demo coming out? It's long due, you know..

03 March 2016, 16:00	#20
CodyJarrett Global Moderator Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: UK Age: 46 Posts: 6,160	Do you still have any graphics or early versions of your prototypes?

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