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Alternate Reality X – Release 0.70 – Coming Soon

Acrin1 7 Comments
 
The Ferry Man puts in an appearance in release 0.70
 

If you follow the Alternate Reality X Facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alternate-Reality-X/277276259054861

then you will have seen that I’ve been pretty busy recently working on a Mac OS X port of ARX and putting together release 0.70 for a February 2014 release. It’s long overdue but it seems like people are still behind the project which is great. I’m using the Facebook page more as it seems to reach lots of people and it’s quick and easy for me to post on it. I will still be using the blog here for much longer posts though so keep watching.

In addition I’ve been looking into the options for Android and iOS ports. Android I’ve already had some minor success with but iOS will require the paying the annual $99 Apple Developer Programme sign up fee. This is required even to test on your own device. Anyway well worth doing and would allow me to make submissions to Apple for including ARX on the App Store! I think they are pretty tough in their requirements from what I’ve read but something exciting to aim for.

Alternate Reality X – Back on track

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It’s taken me a long time to start getting back into Alternate Reality X but I finally have my most recent version up and running again on a different computer, with the latest version of the Code::Blocks development environment and the latest packaged release of the SFML multimedia library. I’ve used both of these for some time for ARX development and it’s good to get these new versions installed and working properly with my most recent ARX code before I get stuck into the next stage of development.

I still have some of the new artwork to incorporate into the current version as well as lots of things I see in the program and on the screen which I really want to tidy up. Next step is to draw up a list of these issues that I want to fix for the next release and then start fixing them. I’d also like to get some new content into the next release as well as just bug fixes so let me know if there is something you really would like to see me work on next.

Alternate Reality X – Next Steps

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Firstly I feel I should explain my long silence on these pages, the forums and the ARX facebook page. Since August 2013 I’ve been extremely busy at work and at home with some big work related projects and deadlines, changes within my family, some travelling away from home and then to top it all off various family illnesses (myself included). Nothing serious but something had to give and that was my game development interests. All of these have meant that I have had little or no time to spend on Alternate Reality X. Anyway I am back now and keen to get back to work on ARX. Thanks for your patience and continued support during this time. Sorry for not keeping you up to date. Whilst all the above has been going on I’ve been thinking about ARX and my next steps for when life became less frantic.

I’ve been struck recently by how buggy the current version is and how my code is now desperately in need of a major overhaul. It’s frustrating for players to put a lot of their valuable time into playing the game, only to come up against some serious bugs that I’m not aware of or have not had time to fix yet. I’m not beating myself up for this as I’ve effectively learnt everything I know about game programming through the course of developing ARX so it’s not surprising that a lot of what is there has not been implemented in the best possible way and is not very flexible. I’d like that to change and I have a few ideas how to go about it.
I’ve also a strong desire to make it much more accessible in terms of multiple platforms (Mac OS X, Android etc). I’ve just bought an Ouya and I’ve had a great time trying that out and would love to make a version of ARX available on it. For those of you not familiar with the Ouya it’s an Android based “micro-console” based around a Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset similar to a Nexus 7 tablet. It’s available with a controller for $99 in the US and £99 in the UK and all the games are free to try. It’s targeted very much at the small or independent developer and appears to be right up my street for the sort of the games and development I’m interested in. I was playing The Dungeon on it (under C64 emulation) on my living room TV yesterday which was pretty cool. As the Ouya is Android based, any games I develop for it would be easily ported to other Android devices. Windows will remain the primary platform for any development.
I’m not looking to change the basic presentation of the game much in terms of the current 3D engine and the 2D display for encounters and menus but I would like to bring it more up to date and make it easier for new players and players on other platforms to enjoy. There is Android and iOS support for SFML in progress and the new release of Unity 3D now provides functionality for making 2D game production easier (which ARX primarily is). Unity of course allows you to build different versions of your game across multiple platforms very easily. SilverAR has been working on his Unity AR so I wouldn’t want to tread on his toes but his project is very different to mine, being a modern, full 3D Alternate Reality.
Probably a bit premature just now but I’ve started looking at firms who can produce printed boxes – I would love to have real fold out boxes similar to the original ones that Alternate Reality shipped in and full printed manuals (on the green / yellow paper of course!). Everything would be rewritten to expand on the original City and Dungeon documents.
 
I’ve also got several pieces of great artwork from Ted which I want to get out to players as soon as possible as they will really enhance the game in my opinion.

Let me know your thoughts.

Collection Fever

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I blame YouTube. A few of the channels I subscribe to have had videos recently where people have received boxes full of classic PC games or have unboxed old computers I have fond memories of. Last week I browsed through eBay for old computers, games and accessories and I’ve been taking a regular look since then. I hadn’t realised how active the vintage computer market was.



My first console – An Odyssey 2 known to me in the UK as a Phillips G7000
 

I haven’t bought anything yet but I came close to buying a Commodore 64 on eBay. It wasn’t quite what I was looking for though (in terms of accessories and games) and the final bidding went a bit higher than I thought it would. You can even search for Commodore 64’s and buy them through Amazon it appears! In addition I really want to create a much more comfortable work and play environment / office at home with a proper desk. This would provide enough space for a couple of old timer computers in addition to my main work set up.

The original model of the Commodore 64 which I had back in the 1980s

If I do go ahead and buy some old equipment I want to use it – I don’t want to just have them sit in a cupboard or gather dust. I would play some of the original games and would possibly be interested in trying a bit of old style game development. It seems the tools are out there now to make this a lot easier. Maybe a “Stone of the Citadel” “light” edition on the Commodore 64 🙂

So what would I be interested in? My first console / computer was an Odyssey 2 but I never really liked it very much so I think I would skip that. An original “Breadboard” Commodore 64 would be my first choice. I was lucky enough to get a new C64 when I was about 11 years old and had it up until the 1990s. Lot’s of memories of playing Elite, Alternate Reality: The Dungeon and Ultima IV –  good times. I followed that with an Amiga 500 which I went on to replace with an Amiga 1200 when it was released. The Amiga 1200 was reluctantly sold about 1995 to pay for a holiday to Egypt when a promised job extension fell through. A decent Atari 8bit machine and Spectrum (rubber keys version of course!) would also be good. Which model of Atari would people recommend as I’m not really up to speed with the various models. Obviously it would need to play Alternate Reality well! I’m also interested in picking up old games across most platforms – mainly RPGs.

The original Commodore Amiga 500 which I used to play Eye of the Beholder and Speedball 2

I also fired up the CCS64 emulator and had a lot of fun with my son playing Commando, Elite and Delta. He especially enjoyed Commando (which reminds me to get Mame set up properly some time) and just kept having “one more go”. Just shows how a 30 year old computer can still be fun for a child who has access to the modern gaming platforms.

Do you have any tips or stories on collecting? Either post on the blog or drop me an email at acrin1 @ gmail . com. Any reasonably priced, good sources, preferably in the United Kingdom but will look internationally too. Funds don’t allow for spending much so I’ll be looking over the long term but would love to hear any related advice or experiences.

Alternate Reality X – The end is in sight!

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Taking a break from enhancing the combat in Alternate Reality X I thought I would add some of the final elements of the game such as the Dungeon’s final level and the end game. It’s nice to get a change of focus and pace from time to time and helps to prevent me getting burnt out by working on the same thing for too long. Now that I have the final pieces of the game completed I will fill in the remaining gaps so that all the quests are complete and the game can be played through to completion. There isn’t much more to add to make that possible other than putting in a few special locations – most of which are simple coding wise as they are not very interactive.

Exploring a strange corridor in Alternate Reality X
 

I thought about posting some additional screenshots from this section but didn’t want to risk spoiling the ending of the game by posting the final screens and text for those who may not have seen them before. Hopefully these other screens will keep you going in the meantime.

Where will the elevator take you?

We just might have a completed Alternate Reality X by the end of 2013 which would make me very happy. Thanks for your continued support.

Donations & Update

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As you are probably aware if you’re following my project updates I accept donations for my work on the Alternate Reality X project and set this up a while back after a few supporters of the project asked me how they could donate to support the future development of the project.

If you’ve not yet made a donation towards Alternate Reality X, value the work I’ve put into the project and would like to see it continue to develop further then please consider making a donation via PayPal. The links are available from the Facebook page, the website and this blog. Any amount, however small is always appreciated and I obviously realise that everyone’s means and situation is different. If you’ve already made a donation then I’m sincerely grateful and really appreciate the support you’ve provided for the project – thank you. It means a lot to me and helps me value and justify (to myself) my work on ARX and the time I put into it. It’s good to see that other people value the time that’s been invested.

I’ve mentioned before that it can sometimes be hard to justify the time that I’m spending working on Alternate Reality X to my family. As always there is never enough time to get everything done so I have to prioritise my time accordingly. Fit game development in with a full time job, household chores and admin and a young family and time is a valuable commodity. At least if I can occasionally say that all the hours I’m putting into the project has resulted in a little bit of money here and there then people are a bit more accommodating.

Reading some of the comments or requests on the forums I think it’s easy for people to underestimate just how much time it takes to add a new feature or fix an annoying bug within ARX. Often the seemingly trivial features are the ones that take the most work.

I think I’m doing well this year with 7 releases of Alternate Reality X during 2013 so far, averaging about one per month. This is already the same number as I created in 2012 so it’s looking fairly positive to date for 2013 🙂

My development machine decided to give up the ghost yesterday so my next step is to sort that out before I get going on release 0.65. After that the next area I’m planning to work on is to expand the whole encounter and combat part of ARX so that it includes surprises, waylay, blocks, dropping weapons etc. Basically working to complete the combat system so that it has all the features of the City and the Dungeon. I’ve also got a bit more work to do on potions (which also relate to combat). I also want to start adding the remaining Dungeon establishments now that the City ones are all in place.

Thanks for your support.

Alternate Reality X – Release 0.64 Now Available

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Release 0.64 of Alternate Reality X is now available from the download pages over at:

www.crpgdev.com.

I’ve added the final City establishment – the City Healers – to the game, City style potions, poison, diseases and a number of bug fixes. All 44 types of potion can be found in the game but several of them will need some work in the next release to be a 100% completed. Treasure Finding is working though and directly influences the probability of finding treasure after an encounter – something which people had mentioned in the last release. Potions are easier to find in this version than they will be in the final version to give players the chance to try them out.

The full list of changes include:

  • Added City Healers – Includes heal wounds, cure disease, remove alcohol and remove delusions
  • Added City style potions as treasure – Examine, Sip, Taste and Quaff
  • Added Treasure Finding stat
  • Added diseases and poisons and their effects
  • Updated the wandering healer for the above
  • Updated main menu with new image / layout
  • Updated “Active Magic” and “Known Diseases” displays
  • Added compass images from Jason and added background for use with large 3D window
  • Added new guard / warrior encounter image from Ted
  • Reduced encounter frequency
  • Fixed Bug #027: Game hangs on second play through when creating character
  • Fixed Bug #028: Compass images hard to see in full screen mode and needed position adjusting
  • Fixed Bug #029: Crash when pressing ESC from Use object menu
  • Fixed Bug #030: Shop stock items not saved as part of save game 
  • Fixed Bug #031: Tavern and shop stock items not refreshed each day
  • Fixed Bug #032: Guild lyrics display too quickly
  • Fixed Bug #033: Death lyrics display too quickly

If you would like to support the continued development of Alternate Reality X then please consider making a donation towards my time and web site costs via the PayPal link on the blog, ARX Facebook page or website.

My Micro RPG in 24 hours

Acrin1 1 Comment

I’ve been very busy over the last few weeks with family and work activities which hasn’t left much time for game development but I’ve been busy planning the next update to Alternate Reality X and carrying out research for my own original game.
I’m still getting up to speed with Unity and have been inspired by reading some interesting articles from my two favourite blogs – The CRPG Addict and Tales of the Rampant Coyote.

One of my long time issues with game development is the classic problem of trying to create something which is beyond my abilities, too time consuming or too epic in scope. I was interested to hear over on Matt Chat that Richard Garriott of Ultima fame wrote over 20 smaller RPGs before he wrote Akalabeth. This game Akalabeth in turn became the basis for Ultima I.

The gave me the idea of writing a very small game in a short space of time to help me get up to speed on Unity 3D. It also gives me a completed game project and a personal confidence boost. The intention is to wrap this up in say 24 hours of development time maximum. It’s not practical for me to do the 24 hours straight so this will be a couple of hours at a time. For what I have in mind this should be feasible. I spent about an hour yesterday and came up with the example room below which I was happy with.

Exploring a room in the old castle
 

Here’s what I have in mind:
  • Single Character
  • Simple Character Creation – possibly limited to naming your character
  • Simple inventory
  • Single Quest – recover a stolen item and leave the castle alive
  • Static map level – built using a small set of building blocks
  • Random encounters using a text based system (e.g. Might and Magic 1, Alternate Reality)
  • Random treasure from encounters
  • Optional – Shop where you can buy weapon upgrades or healing
  • Optional – Add some further back story and lore for my Stone of the Citadel game
  • Optional – Add some additional map levels
  • Optional – Add a few spells
I’m thinking of something with about the same level of interaction as an Ultima 1 Dungeon or a Might and Magic 1 level. Should be fun.