The Codex

Argh, you people are posting these bugs now, right after I release a new version? Where is the hate smilie... I'll patch that output up shortly, but in the meantime download the new version and see if the rest of the XB output works. The colorsets are handled differently in the latest version.

New Magellan release out with a whole lotta changes. Expanded character set, color image import, position indicator, text cursor, map counter, and direct line to the Kremlin! (Okay, not the last one.) Grab it from the first post as usual. Think we're getting close to an official release, there's not a whole lot left on the likely list. Let me know if you find any bugs or have new inspiration for features. Walid, I started work on the bitmap editor today (code name Ortelius). Hope to have something to show you soon. The interface works pretty good, but I want to firm up the data side and also get image imports working. It can be a real pain to draw a whole bitmap from scratch with just a pixel brush.

Fabulous dragons! Almost heraldic. The screen is wonderful as well. If we decide to go with a single overall artist (for consistency sake), you've got my vote so far. Phenomenal amount of talent on this board, I have to say. It's been one post after another of great material and ideas.

Personally, I'd rather go in the original direction, of "like Adventure with slightly better graphics", instead of the isometric variant. Programming in isometric is a challenge unto itself, without trying to convert Adventure over to that, which introduces the complexity of deciding how the original game maps to a new space. Since the interaction of a square player with very obvious color regions is crucial to the gameplay of the original, I think we risk losing a lot by switching to iso.

Cute Kurt, love Bubble Bobble! Your earlier dragon had a big friendly aspect to it. Looked a bit like Sweetums from the Muppet Show. Nice for a kid-friendly game.

Yep, the 2:1 proportionality looks better than the 1:1 I did in my quick mockup. I use 2:1 normally in my own isometric games.

That sounds doable Walid. I assume bitmap mode means every single pixel can be set individually, without relying on redefining characters? I can manage that, plus add a grid-based selector that lets you set the foreground/background color pair for each location.

Here ya go. It's quick-and-dirty work and would need a lot of correcting and detailing, but it shows how isometric can be done with two-color chars. And of course you can just change the colorset settings to make the castle a different color.

The castle could be done using two-color tiles. I've done a lot of isometric coding and as long as the proportions are correct you can get away with it. I'll see if I can post a mockup to show you. EDIT - And that really is a fantastic dragon!

Very slick Raccoon Lad, I love isometric graphics. Nice work!

Played around with some sword graphics. Broadsword Giant Japanese RPG Sword Cutlass Roman Army Sword Serrated Sword 10 CALL CLEAR::CALL SCREEN(15)::CALL MAGNIFY(4) 20 CALL CHAR(96,"0102639E9E630201")::CALL CHAR(97,"0000FE0101FE0000") 21 CALL CHAR(98,"001F50FF501F0000")::CALL CHAR(99,"00FC02FD01FF0000") 22 CALL CHAR(100,"00302FE8AF300000")::CALL CHAR(101,"0000FC02FF000000") 23 CALL CHAR(102,"080F98FFF88F0800")::CALL CHAR(103,"00FC02FD02FC0000") 24 CALL CHAR(104,"100FF89A0D100000")::CALL CHAR(105,"00FC02A956000000") 30 CALL VCHAR(8,16,96)::CALL VCHAR(8,17,97) 31 CALL VCHAR(10,16,98)::CALL VCHAR(10,17,99) 32 CALL VCHAR(12,16,100)::CALL VCHAR(12,17,101) 33 CALL VCHAR(14,16,102)::CALL VCHAR(14,17,103) 34 CALL VCHAR(16,16,104)::CALL VCHAR(16,17,105) 40 CALL KEY(0,K,S)::IF S=0 THEN 40 50 END

Ooo, good one!

It's the Chat link at the top of the forum pages, amongst all those little menu tab links.

A lot of us US folks seem to be on most nights around 8-10. There's nothing stopping us jumping in the chatroom then, especially if it's unoccupied. You can see who's in there on the main forum page (at the bottom), so if there are 99ers in the room, hop on in!

Quite funky man, I can't replicate it with your file, but then my version is way different now from any previous release. Hopefully that bodes well and means it will work with your data. I'm preparing to release it shortly. In the meantime, if you do get the error again please post it. And of course let me know if the new version presents any problems once it comes out. Here's the XB code I was able to save from your file, if you need it. EDIT - Ah, wait, are you getting the error in XB? Sorry, I was thinking the error was in Magellan. Yeah, some of the XB output can contain illegal values, or simple be too large for memory and lead to line loss. Not sure how to get around that yet, working on it.

Eh, my dragons are coming out a bit naff right now. Had a half-decent wyvern in the works but Owen pipped me at the post on that. I'm sorta happy with this one though, even if he is doing the Godzilla Stomp. 10 CALL CLEAR::CALL SCREEN(15)::CALL MAGNIFY(4) 20 CALL CHAR(96,"032E4753311D0F27438180C365301F0F80E4024A8CB8F0E0C0E0F0F07E75E0C0") 30 CALL SPRITE(#1,96,2,90,70) 40 CALL KEY(0,K,S)::IF S=0 THEN 40 50 END

Ah, is there only one sword in the game? For some reason I thought there were three, each color coded to a dragon. Must've been confusing that with the keys. Never mind then, though I still like the idea of the dragons looking different, as according to the official docs each has a different behaviour and temperment.

Swank!

Another thing that would be nice is if each sword looked like a sword, and also looked different. Same with the dragons. That would spice up the whole "here's the legendary sword X which is said to be the only thing that can defeat dragon Y" formula. One dragon could be covered in thorn-like scales, for example, and the corresponding sword be spikey, whereas another dragon could be snake-like and sinuous, and its sword would be curved or wavy. I can have a go at drawing these if you think it's a useful concept.

I like that Owen! Judicious use of graphic embellishment makes it look better than the plain form, and doesn't overwhelm the eyes like the every-single-tile textures. I assume you are sharing character sets between screens and just changing the colorset definitions (so that yellow walls become red ones on another screen and so forth).

Pseudo 3D. Better, worse, or indifferent?

I seriously need to get in assembly again myself. Y'all are making me all jealous with these cool projects. Gotta finish my current queue though. Keep posting your progress reports, it allows me to experience the fun vicariously!

That's a strange one, Bones. I can't seem to replicate it with my test data, can you possibly attach the map file you are using? If I have that then I should be able to trigger the same error. Thanks!

That sounds like a blast, man! I love the idea of custom themes for each of the bosses, too. Combining that with the unique environment of each world will really give the player the feel for wandering through a wild and diverse landscape.

How about "The Boot of Wooldridge, Rehelmed"?