[WIP] Creeping Me Out!

[vulture]

@Mixel

It's mindboggling this is ECS and not AGA!

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by Tsak

Omg, amazing work once again Mixel! I really love the new fixed city backgrounds!

Thankyou, I'm glad you like. The sort of feedback where you and a couple of others have pointed out X part doesnt look as well put together as Y part is so valuable, and there's really no reason for me not to try to polish everything to the best of my ability so i can be proud of it all, looking back. (and not want to remaster it again years after the fact, lol)

Here's a weird thing.. (captured from my A1200)
[ Show youtube player ] - it was a while since i played through it in NTSC, and last i tried I got horrible slowdowns, but it turns out that was my capture setup.. Through the direct output it's 100% smooth.. (so smooth it's impossible for me to capture it accurately, just like in PAL.. Grr) so it's a good option for people who either want the extra challenge or have inflexible displays that make CMO look tiny with a massive black bar at the bottom.

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by vulture

@Mixel

It's mindboggling this is ECS and not AGA!

Thankyou! I wish more games had used EHB and targetted A3000 spec, imagine what things could've looked like if they'd just included even a tiny amount of fast ram in a standard config. Argh.

I am going to experiment with an AGA build in part to play nicely with the A500mini (which seems to hate overly complex copper stuff) but also potentially as my "low spec" build (the most common 2MB chip/no fast setup obviously being unexpanded A1200s and CD32s.. So the AGA version is potentially going to look quite a lot different, potentially (subjectively, i suspect) worse than the ECS one, as by using AGA and not EHB I won't be able to use the crazy tricks with translucent half bright rainbows and other funky stuff. On the other hand I'd gain really intricate big overlapping parallax layers like in Earok's Gothicvania demo, so swings and roundabouts?

[Samurai_Crow]

I agree about fast RAM. All chip and chip/ranger setups are extremely hobbled bandwidth-wise.

[Superman]

Great work on this it looks amazing so far. It runs on the A500 mini also which is a nice bonus.

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by Superman

Great work on this it looks amazing so far. It runs on the A500 mini also which is a nice bonus.

Thanks!! And.. It.. does? Smoothly, without the copper or sound going nuts? Sorry I haven’t put up the amiberry archive for 1.3 yet.. Interesting!

Really interested in the performance, particularly with all the parallax stuff.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by Mixel

Thanks!! And.. It.. does? Smoothly, without the copper or sound going nuts? Sorry I haven’t put up the amiberry archive for 1.3 yet.. Interesting!

Really interested in the performance, particularly with all the parallax stuff.

I have to turn on the copper function to make play without slowdown and it does then cause a few graphic glitches in the sky area but it’s not too bad to be honest.

Without the copper function enabled there is no graphics glitches but it does have quite a bit of slowdown.

[Mixel]

Ahh! I think in the long term I really do need to get an A500mini to test this properly, and the comparitive merits of the new AGA parallax system to different iterations of ecs/copper parallax. things like.. maybe switching the game to 25fps cures the glitches?, I would like to tinker and see what it’s theoretical limits are. My previous lowspec build only had about half of the screen doing copper stuff, maybe that would work better!

I’m glad it’s not too bad though. I wonder how the motorbike stage looks.

Annnd I’ve watched two playthroughs now with a particularly unfair feeling death in them.. Nooo! It’s fine though that can stay in the demo, haha. Possibly tweaked in the final game.

[acidbottle]

The tweaks made after recent feedback has made a huge difference, as far as I'm concerned. Really enjoyed my playthrough and after watching 1 or 2 of your streams, know players are going to be in for a huge challenge in completing this beast!

Fantastic work Mixel

[Mixel]

Thanks Acidbottle!

[ Show youtube player ] - AGA parallax test. Was curious seeing everyone else post AGA parallax so had to try it too.

This was partly for fun and partly to establish how much work I’d have to do to adapt it for AGA, and basically, not tooo much? The ECS build is still my lead one, but this is pretty interesting too!

I probably won’t be streaming today, having health issues. :/

[Mixel]

And now an AGA city parallax test! [ Show youtube player ] I started streaming way later than usual, health issues earlier then home stuff after but soo glad to be learning how this works. Still rough around the edges, but it really does go a long way to making the background less distant, it’s pretty hard to use the ECS system and not have it trail off into the horizon, but this, this is crazy. So much fun.

Weirdly - despite technically using way fewer colours, the fact that the layers are overlapping, and you have a copper rainbow behind means you’re more free to experiment with the colours in relation to each other and make interesting things happen.

In terms of the main build I’m in optimisation mode now, I have a lot to go back and streamline that will speed up creating further levels.

[Predseda]

Now this is excellent!

[acidbottle]

I missed a lot of your stream sadly (hope your feeling better to) but what a great job on the parallax there! Looks utterly awesome

Have to admit, am addicted to the sprite parallax to, opens up a new dimension and have been creating prototypes left right and center, which is distracting as hell when stuff needs done

[nikosidis]

Mixel: That is fantastic What a depth in the picture.

[Gzegzolka]

Looks awesome, I would say it even look better than static part of background to the point I would consider deleting some static buildings pictures to show background instead.

[aros-sg]

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

Looks awesome

Yeah .. except for all this purple stuff. Sorry. Maybe it's just me, but this color is really awful. Nothing should ever painted in this color. Is there any other game that uses that stupid color?

[saimon69]

Originally Posted by aros-sg

Yeah .. except for all this purple stuff. Sorry. Maybe it's just me, but this color is really awful. Nothing should ever painted in this color. Is there any other game that uses that stupid color?

Stay away from anime, then - those often use purple in industrial quantity -_-

[Mixel]

Originally Posted by Predseda

Now this is excellent!

Thanks

Originally Posted by acidbottle

I missed a lot of your stream sadly (hope your feeling better to) but what a great job on the parallax there! Looks utterly awesome

Have to admit, am addicted to the sprite parallax to, opens up a new dimension and have been creating prototypes left right and center, which is distracting as hell when stuff needs done

Its the speed/ease of creation that is making it really compelling for me, compared to the huge amount of tinkering with the CSV to get ECS copper to do cool stuff, it's really nice to have a very visual thing to do.. Very relaxing in comparison.

Originally Posted by nikosidis

Mixel: That is fantastic What a depth in the picture.

Thanks! Glad you like.

Originally Posted by Gzegzolka

Looks awesome, I would say it even look better than static part of background to the point I would consider deleting some static buildings pictures to show background instead.

I thought that too, and it does feel that way from this specific level, but tbh there are other opportunities to see the skyline more clearly..

Originally Posted by aros-sg

Yeah .. except for all this purple stuff. Sorry. Maybe it's just me, but this color is really awful. Nothing should ever painted in this color.

Hahaha what did purple ever do to you?

Is there any other game that uses that stupid color?

The pink-purple colour space is one of the platform's most distinctive trademark visual features, spanning back to the very beginning of it's game catalogue. There are probably hundreds of examples.

[commodorejohn]

Y'know, I never noticed that until just now

[Mixel]

Yup I couldn’t make an Amiga game without mining a purple-magenta vaporwave-like palette occasionally! And Francis has had a purple jacket since 2002 or whenever I first drew him. So.. pfft.

It’s not just an “Amiga thing” (though it is moreso than some platforms) The whole era has so much purple outside of games, particularly in animation.. Don Bluth and Hana Barbera frequently went fully purple any time they had atmospheric/spooky backdrop stuff happening.