Two versions of Crownland?

[Gunstar]

I was organizing my Atari files on my laptop, when I noticed I had two Crownland files. One I put in a 64K> folder, becuase I was sure I had loaded it on my 64K 1200XL before I upgraded the memory. But then I was also given a folder of 128K+ FILE games of converted carts and Xmem games, and in it there is a Crownland file that is labeled (PAL, 128K). I tried both on my now 256K 1200XL and I don't see a difference, but the farthest I've made it in-game is the first Jungle level. Are there two versions or is one mislabeled...or maybe I never played it on my 64K 1200XL...

[Rybags]

There's probably more than 2.

 

That game had in-progress releases, so good chance the RAM requirement changed as it got more complete.

[snicklin]

(Thinking from memory - not that reliable...)

 

I think that there was an initial version which had a different first level, and then there was the released version. Was there then a bugfix after that??

[Rybags]

Probably.

 

The archive sites generally don't carry all the old stuff. Somewhere like Kaz's site might have, but you'd need to trawl through the news posts.

[José Pereira]

For example, the first W.I.P. was using 40bytes wide and on the end it is with 32bytes wide.

[snicklin]

Here are two different versions, the first one being the preview.

crownland.zip

[+CharlieChaplin]

Well,

 

first there was a preview of Crownland (40 bytes wide) for 64k machines. Think the programmers would have done a full version for 320k machines, if they had not participated at the Abbuc Software Contest (ASC). Since the ASC only allows programs for 64k and 128k machines and has a deadline (!), they had to "shorten" the game to make it fit for 128k and complete if before the deadline ended. So, that is why a big title-picture is missing, many more levels are missing and err, the full screen-width (as in the preview) is also missing. Who knows what the game would have looked like if it had been released freely and not under the ASC rules...

 

On one hand the ASC is a good thing, since every year a lot of programs are made for it, on the other hand some programs are kinda restriced by the rules (max. 128k RAM) - and I think Crownland is a good example of this (imagine how the 320k file version of Bomb Jack would look like, if restricted to 128k RAM). But then again, maybe one should code a program like in the past for 64k machines, with a main program loading levels/screens/whatever data from disk (multi-stage/multi-load programs) and not as a single EXE/COM/XEX file that loads completely into RAM/XRAM...

 

-Andreas Koch.

[+Philsan]

Thanks Andreas, didn't know old Crownland's version.

Wider and without flicker!

 

ASC rules aren't a problem, programmers are free to release enhanced versions.

But if a programmer makes a game for 64/128 KB, then it's not easy to change it to take advantage of more RAM.

[Gunstar]

Well, I took another look at both the Crownland files I have, and they are both 32 byte wide screens, and both have soft-sprite flicker. Still, great game.

I'll check out the versions posted here. I'd also like to see an advanced version that has 40 byte screens and no soft-sprite flicker.

[Mclaneinc]

Look at the preview for the flicker free game, shame about the constraints on the full version.

 

Maybe one day there will be a return to it and give it the full treatment.

 

Its still a lovely game whatever happens and I put up with sprite flicker on my PAL snes (Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts).

Edited November 14, 2011 by Mclaneinc

[Gunstar]

Exactly. Of course it would be better without flicker, but I've put up with flicker on the A8, NES, SMS, C64, etc. all the time with games that are graphically inferior. I think I can put up with the flickering here too. If Space Harrier is a great game even with the massive flickering, then Crownland shouldn't really be put down for the much less flickering it does...

[_The Doctor__]

huh? space harrier plays nice at least on my 130XE ntsc machine for me but crownland is like so much flicker I do not see the enemy half the time..... more invisible than visible anyone else have the same experience? I started to believe it was a pal only game it was so bad... maybe I need to download a different version?

[MrFish]

pal only

Correct.