ilmenit Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Yet I'll never understand why even awesome coder force the user to think about this instead of adding 10 bytes to switch BASIC off programatically... Maybe it's hard to believe but HDM was one of my first programs for Atari after 20 years. Some obvious things like that were magic for me at the time of development :-) Another example: HDM is not compatible with QMEG because I wasn't aware of it's existence... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Maybe it's hard to believe but HDM was one of my first programs for Atari after 20 years. Some obvious things like that were magic for me at the time of development :-) Another example: HDM is not compatible with QMEG because I wasn't aware of it's existence... Super cool you programmed this Ilmenit. And to make it publicly available for download is really admirable. No worries on holding down an Option button here! Cheers and thank you 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irgendwer Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Yet I'll never understand why even awesome coder force the user to think about this instead of adding 10 bytes to switch BASIC off programatically... This is IMHO only one part of the problem. The other one is, that 'ATR/CAR'-'class'-files should contain meta-data (like the ID3-tags for mp3-files), which define the environment they target (e.g. PAL/NTSC, OS, memory configuration, Basic, artifacting etc.). (This also could support 'Box-Art' like in MP3 files... ) Playing with emulator settings isn't fun and Atari beginners cannot/shouldn't know what settings are the correct ones... Couldn't 'we' establish a standard for this? (Maybe I should create a poll if this is desired anyway..?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 From the description I just found there seems to be 2 unused bytes in the 16-byte header. That would be sufficient for some flags, but being a new addition would probably want a "magic" field to identify it as such. Probably only need: 2 bits - Basic on/off/as is 2 bits - machine type OS-A, OS-B, XL, as is 3 bits - memory size 16K, 48/64K, 128K, 320K Compy, 320K Rambo, 1 Meg, as is 2 bits - PAL, NTSC, as is It might be more an annoyance though if your config gets changed all the time, probably want emulation to only use the parms until the next Coldstart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JAC! Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Maybe it's hard to believe but HDM was one of my first programs for Atari after 20 years. Well that's indeed incredible. In fact HDM is one of the few games that I actually played a lot instead of reading the code :-) My comment was really meant as a general comment. Nowadays people often user emulators and machine with modfied OSes (e.g. most of which of BASIC off by default) for development, that's convenient and of course fine. The pitty is that this often yields problems on real HW. Detection/handling of BASIC, PAL/NTSC and memory size are actually things the Atari standard OS already does since 1982 so it runs with all these configurations. My "whish" is that coders who release new stuff try to take the time to detect/support these configuration. All you need is already there. Bits in an ATR header would of course be convenient, but more convenient is a program that also runs on different real HW configurations. And it would solve the ATR problem also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irgendwer Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Detection/handling of BASIC, PAL/NTSC and memory size are actually things the Atari standard OS already does since 1982 so it runs with all these configurations. My "whish" is that coders who release new stuff try to take the time to detect/support these configuration. All you need is already there. Bits in an ATR header would of course be convenient, but more convenient is a program that also runs on different real HW configurations. And it would solve the ATR problem also. Here I see the difference: While the program may be able in some cases to detect essential (I'm avoiding the term 'basic' here ) requirements, what is the appropriate consequence? A message like 'Runs in 128k PAL only!'? Why an emulation based user should be forced to fiddle with settings and reboot, if the emulator could offer the needed environment before the application starts? The benefit for real hardware users is not so apparent, but the documentation of the required settings is also a gain. All real users I know have some tags on their disk labels to indicate e.g. 'Super Boot/Old OS', 'Basic On', 'Speedy Off' etc. - It is advantageous if this information is attached to the disk image itself! Even if all new productions inspect their starting conditions/switch them, what about the old ones? I bet most of the PAL users start 'Rescue on Fractalus' in PAL mode under emulation due to laziness (switching back and forth) or ignorance, while this game really deserves the NTSC frame rate. Some conditions can be hard to detect e.g. should an application really examine if an high-speed-SIO is running which may have bad consequences for the experience? What kind of burden should the programmer take, just to ensure that his program runs under 'normal conditions'? I'm not talking about abusing some bits in the ATR header, I have a new standard-format in my mind, which supports most of the environmental needs of an application. E.g. related disks form one image - so you shouldn't be able to separate side A & B while they form one application. Not only for ease of use but also with documentary and preserving aspects in mind. I will start a poll now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I made this for a friend on AtariAge and wanted to share, in case anyone was interested. I stuck the disk and card in a ziplock bag and sent it off. Old school style 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twh/f2 Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 I attach the campaign editor for "His Dark Majesty". It was not created for anyone except me and it was done in rush, so do not expect any bells and whistles Just text mode and mouse/keyboard control. HI ! has anybody ever made a new campaign for His Dark Majesty? I think that this game is one of the best productions of the last years! Would be wonderful to get new stuff from the community. I'll check out the editor .. christmas time is hobby time :-) greetings, twh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 upload those images in full glory, Needs to be printed and given a true edge burning and put in with my disk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 (edited) HI ! has anybody ever made a new campaign for His Dark Majesty? I think that this game is one of the best productions of the last years! Would be wonderful to get new stuff from the community. I'll check out the editor .. christmas time is hobby time :-) greetings, twh I've been playing through HDM again over the last week or so - am quite near the end. A new version would be fantastic. If you checkout what is involved and post what is what I'll help out I guess we need a new story creating too! Edited December 24, 2015 by therealbountybob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmenit Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 As I have mentioned - the editor was never created to be used by anyone else than me. For being used by the others it should be probably rewritten... Then there is a problem with command line tool Franny which is used for building the ATR. The tool has a bug and is destroying sometimes VTOC which is making the disc image unusable... Because of this at the end of HDM development I was using one of the GUI tools but without any automation. If you really would like to make a new HDM campaign then I'll do my best to help you :-) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmenit Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I checked the editor attached to a one of the previous posts and it seems to be working. Let me know if you need some help with it :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Had a look at the editor - very nice work Edited a couple of the levels - ok changing terrain and items. For editing the level.txt files I used wordpad as notepad didn't show the line breaks. Is there a way of skipping levels for testing? What can I use to view the faces.fnt file? - perhaps someone can post a picture or a list of them? So who wants to do what? I guess the memory limits us to around the 20 level mark? We need a story. Could use the same characters unless someone wants to create some new images. Levels - I'm happy to do some, twh/f2? anyone else? It's one of those games that is so good already there's next to nothing that needs improving, but Ilmenit perhaps you want to add some new creatures or improve or vary the A.I.? The "new game" option could do with a confirmation. For now I'll have a go at toughening up the original game just to get familiar with things. Saying that I have been stuck on level 19 of HDM (I beat it before!) Any hints? it's the one with the water and the necromancers serpents and zombies (you are on the left they are on the right) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmenit Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Had a look at the editor - very nice work Edited a couple of the levels - ok changing terrain and items. HDM-Editor-Lv1.JPG For editing the level.txt files I used wordpad as notepad didn't show the line breaks. Is there a way of skipping levels for testing? What can I use to view the faces.fnt file? - perhaps someone can post a picture or a list of them? [...] For now I'll have a go at toughening up the original game just to get familiar with things. Saying that I have been stuck on level 19 of HDM (I beat it before!) Any hints? it's the one with the water and the necromancers serpents and zombies (you are on the left they are on the right) I have missed your post because of New Year. First of all you can increase the font size in the console to make the editor bigger :-) To skip the level you can edit (in hex) the file "L" from ATR or you can test the level directly in the editor (F5) if just text-mode is enough for you. To edit FNT and FN2 file you can use http://matosimi.websupport.sk/atari/2014/10/atari-fontmaker-v1-3-5/ The game is hardcoded to have 23 levels. Both zombie levels are hard, probably the hardest ones in the game :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 I'm curious, whatever became of the "Chapter Graphics" that are shown in the initial post of this thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmenit Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Krzysztof A. Ziembik (Kaz) has never finished them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Really? Man, I know I'm slow sometimes but that's a long time ago. Any word about whether they're still being worked on? Maybe the task could be passed off to someone else if not. They're quite good and would add some ambience to an already graphically rich game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+therealbountybob Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 btw I had pretty much finished a new set of HDM levels with some rudimentary text and the existing characters. I tried a few things out to make it more of a sense of journey - some of the levels will need re-working especially the ending. If anyone wants to do the text/storyline and test them let me know. Would be nice to see this made into a proper game 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmenit Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 Before releasing I would propose to get some close beta-testing group (like 1-2 people). It was really useful for me when making original campaign for many reasons - checking if the level is not to difficult (author knows the solution as he created the puzzle), checking if it's distinct enough from other levels, checking if it's fun or boring. Generally each level should pose an unique challenge and especially be very different from the one-before and one-after. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilmenit Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 As the new set of levels has been released http://atariage.com/forums/topic/271251-nyd-2018/?p=3924640here are some design rules I followed when creating original campaign using the Editor. - Game difficulty should rise but oscilating ( http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3848/gameplay_fundamentals_revisited_.php ) - Size of the battles should oscilate too - after a big one there should be a break with a small one- Game should introduce new elements one at time ( http://www.1up.com/features/learning-level-design-mario ) - Player should have feeling of progress "earning" new toys (so he receives a new unit type after defeating it)- New units are introduced first as an enemy so player can learn their abilities.- Each level should introduce a different challenge (by new enemy units, other terrain layout, size of battle etc.)- AI is not super smart so player has chance to win when facing bigger enemy army. It also feels good to beat a bigger enemy army. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chad5200 Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 I'm late to this party... but I just dusted off my old Atari 130XE and have been playing this excellent game. Just wanted to add to the requests for an NTSC version of this game. Everything (sounds, music, animations) plays a bit to fast right now when playing on an NTSC Atari. Also the colors are off. One other minor request would be to have option of turning off only the music but keeping the sound effects active. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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