Gdash

Everything about the modern clones and remakes.

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CWS
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Post by CWS »

Ok, but if I do not open another game or if I quit x11 instead of quitting GDash first then nothing is saved. Moreover it always converts .gds files to .bd files when saving replays from c64 converted files. I thought there should be .bdr files? Maybe a save button should be included in the replays window to avoid such problems.
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cirix
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Post by cirix »

sorry but i really can't help with this if x11 is closed :) almost if the computer was turned off.
also, it will not save gds files, as those are imported c64 data only. but i will add a save button to the replays window.
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CWS
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Post by CWS »

OK, that's right. But GDash also does not ask me if I want to save something (of the replays) if I quit the program!
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cirix
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Post by cirix »

Ok now, everybody: without looking at the TODO file, send me your wishlist! What should be changed/developed/enhanced in gdash?
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RTADash
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Post by RTADash »

RTADash wrote:Just one question: Is there a way to create your own custom C64 palette without using the RGB colors? I only ask because there's a palette that's very close to how I have my emulator colors set, but there are a few that are just a bit off and I'd like to alter them, while preserving the original.
Making custom color palettes (16/256) :D
Boulders are round.
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cirix
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Post by cirix »

send me the palette! :)
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BadDog73
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Post by BadDog73 »

It's getting to the point where I have to come up with really minor suggestions. :D

Maybe animate the intro screen? It might be cool to have a little background cave where the elements move around. Or something.

Maybe a button to apply certain settings to all caves. We'd have to think of which may be appropriate. Timing maybe. Or color palette type. Dunno about this one.

An easier to read status bar for the top of Gdash. That layout and font is sometimes hard to read at a glance.

Tweak the vertical scrolling a little the same as you did with the horizontal so Rockford doesn't catch the top of the screen. You can reach the top of the screen with even BD1 level 1 speeds.

The ability to set up 2 or more player games (working like the original) in gdash. Default should remain the same, but have the option.

Already suggested I think: Atari sounds.

I am just throwing out every idea that I think of - these are open to argument of course.

-Ben
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CWS
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Post by CWS »

First I have to say that GDash is almost perfect to me. It's the best Boulder Dash game ever. Better than the original one. There is not that much room for improvement - ok, ok, a little bit... ;) And I think it's great because it is not only for Windows (as most clones are for that strange operating system).

A really great thing would be if we could find someone who can make new classic graphics for GDash. The original ones are the best - but what if someone can use the original ones and make them better? Maybe with more colors, finer graphics, smoother animations. I hate that I can not draw that nice but there are certainly good graphics artists out there... :)

Animated intro screen would be nice. It's not necessary to see a complete game or so but animated walls, diamonds, butterflies, etc. would be nice. Same as in the original C64 games.

It would be very interesting if it would be possible to use an own title screen for each game. I do not know if this is possible but this would make it even more authentic.

One of the next things should be the sound themes. Same as graphics themes.

As for the status bar in GDash: Maybe a little bit larger font would do the thing. There is enough space to use a larger font.

Maybe game notes can be displayed under the title screen as soon as the game is loaded. Optionally at least if someone does not like to show it automatically.

I'll think about more things to improve...
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RTADash
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Post by RTADash »

I've sent it. :wink:

In GDash, the cave info bar at the bottom-left of the editor doesn't change when you press the next/previous cave buttons. Could you fix this?

In SDash, being able to change the color of the cave status bar to classic BD1/BD2 style would be neat.
Also, having that status bar use whatever color palette is selected at the time would make it look much more in place. (It looks weird when I'm playing a game in the frodo palette and the status bar is still in the vice palette.) :)
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cirix
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Post by cirix »

RTADash wrote:Also, having that status bar use whatever color palette is selected at the time would make it look much more in place.
Well, this looks the easiest, but it is a very tough one :) Especially for Atari colors, as the palettes are very different to each other. The colors I choose for one palette look very strange for another. I will think about it.
CWS wrote:A really great thing would be if we could find someone who can make new classic graphics for GDash.
That would be also nice, as GDash in its present form cannot be released into the public, due to copyright reasons. I think.
BadDog73 wrote:Already suggested I think: Atari sounds.
It would be nice if someone did sampling those for me. CWS once sent me the C64 sounds recorded in an emulator :) But I don't really know the Atari games, nor do I like the sound of it.
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Post by BadDog73 »

If I were to sample the Atari sounds for you, what format would you like them?

-Ben

Edit - (Duh - I suppose the same format as the distributed C64 sounds. I'll see what I can do...)
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cirix
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Post by cirix »

BadDog73 wrote:If I were to sample the Atari sounds for you, what format would you like them?
Plain .wav, preferably 16-bit, 44100hz. I'll do the converting and other things!
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cirix
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new

Post by cirix »

Hi,

I uploaded a new version of the game, 20090103. My server, the jutas is up again, so you can download it from the usual link.

EDIT: if it is not running :( use http://biztosan.hu/~cirix/gdash/

Important changes are:
- Small caves (intermissions) will not unnecessarily scroll in sdash.
- replay checksums - the game detects if the cave which had a replay is changed.
- Reworked status bar for gdash - uses the original layout. (Alternative status bar with left shift button, as in sdash.)
- bugfixes.
- sdash status bar can be changed to different color schemes, for example original, final boulder, crli or atari.
- also, c64 colors are used for the status bar automatically, if the cave has c64 colors.

- Tweaked the scrolling. Now it does not change its speed when playing the game, but instead an ideal scrolling speed is calculated for every cave. But a constant speed remains. Personally I like it much better than the previous algorithms. It is much easier to get used to.

- Every cave can have a STORY associated to it, and that story is shown when you play the cave. It really gives the game a nice atmosphere! The caveset I checked this on is Dustin's RockFort 1 - The Long Way. (Dustin: I added the story from the readme to the bdcff file!)
- The previous "Notes" text for the cave is not shown when playing, only in the cave info dialog. So it can be used for ideas and hints, and the user can check them if he is stuck in a cave. I added the hints to the Sendydash and the RTADash series. I recommend checking them! (The .bd files contain the texts.)

- Cavesets can have their own title screens. Check BD1, BD2, BD3 (also, the .bd files, not the .gds files.) Also check Boulderdash-UX. The game allows adding any image (within the size of the screen), and also a tile to be used for a scrolling background.

bye
Last edited by cirix on Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sendy
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Post by Sendy »

It's particularly nice to be able to play the atari caves with their native colours, I've never been able to do this before!

I have a bug report, however I think it's something very minor. In Sendydash 3, cave 2:

Image

The amoeba starts it's rapid growth almost instantly, even though the Amoeba Time is set to 999? This of course breaks the first mechanism in the cave which is usually reliable enough 9 out of 10 times.

Having all these cavesets in one place though is amazing and I look forwards to using Gdash to play and create many games in future.

Some less important questions:

1) What's Sdash? I looked around but didn't see any information. Sprry if that's a silly question.

2) Why is there an option for disabling downward growth on the Water element? Surely common experience informs us water loves to obey gravity and will find it's own level before growing upwards? I don't understand the water element and what it's for since I never played the original game it came from, but having an option to have 'more realistic' water behaviour would be sweet - say for example where it prioritizes growing downwards and will not grow into a higher space unless all other possibilities are exhausted (or something?!).

3) In the future, would extended elements such as replicators and conveyor belts be out of the question? Whilst still keeping with the retro feel of course...
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cirix
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Post by cirix »

Hi
Sendy wrote:I have a bug report, however I think it's something very minor. In Sendydash 3, cave 2
I'll check that!
Sendy wrote:1) What's Sdash? I looked around but didn't see any information. Sprry if that's a silly question.
It's the "C64-like" version. The file is sdash.exe, that is why i refer to it with that name.
Sendy wrote:2) Why is there an option for disabling downward growth on the Water element?
Compatibility option for Crazy Dream 7. There are many options for a cave, which I do not recommend changing at all... And which are for compatibility for older games. Not only those ones in the Compatibility tab; but the "active player leftmost", too, for an example.
Sendy wrote:3) In the future, would extended elements such as replicators and conveyor belts be out of the question? Whilst still keeping with the retro feel of course...
If you describe an element thoroughly, I can implement it.
cirix
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