LX.NET Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Hi everyone, In the Lynx development kit that I acquired there was also a Quarterdeck 5.0 backup set of the work of the original owner. I found several things in the backup set, ranging from artwork and source code to a binary image of a game. He created this complete game that was sent to Atari for feedback. They liked it, but they never published it. We are talking 1993 here, and the Atari Lynx was close to being stopped. I got permission from the original owner (who shall be revealed later) to publish the game. We intend to do so this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Lynx. So, more will be told later this year. I have successfully created a full encrypted ROM image from the game, so it can be published on real cartridges, just like the old games. Not sure how we will release the game, but suffice to say it will be a cool thing to release a game from over 20 years ago. In the meantime, you will have to do with these: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Long live the Lynx! The graphics looks nice. It is pretty amazing to find a new game over 20 years after it was written. We really need a 25th anniversary party to properly celebrate the old cat with 9 lives. -- Karri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Hm...what's the date again, today? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+karri Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Oops... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ever2600 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I was going to ask if the developers name was April... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
life_is_pleach Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Oh yes. Hopefully a cart release. Please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GadgetUK Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Please don't tell me it's a cruel April Fools? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitari Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Obviously is, but nice screenshots though. I wonder what they're really from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyChris Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Obviously is, but nice screenshots though. I wonder what they're really from. Good! Saves me a couple of bucks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirlynxalot Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Haha got me with the prank as well before I scrolled down to read the other comments in the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Obviously is, but nice screenshots though. I wonder what they're really from. They're all from different games. Some of them look like ST games, and I think that Darius Twin screenshot looks like it's from a C64. Was it ported to the C64? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atarilovesyou Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Well done, Sir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willard Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) no pranks today so i let my guard down, thought this was real at first and was looking forward to it for a brief moment Edited April 1, 2014 by Willard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX.NET Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 Sorry guys, for this partial April fools joke. I hope you appreciated it. April fools jokes can only be done before noon, but I am currently in the US, so I was still on the right side of 12 o'clock when I wrote it. Surprisingly, everything I wrote is actually true. It was just that the screenshots are not of the game (if you reread I never said that they are, but I knew it was suggestive enough to make people put 1 and 1 together when they shouldn't (on April 1st at least)). The screenshots are created by Robert who also wrote the game, but I think they are his mockups for a potential other game. The uncovered game really exists. Karri knew about this, but I am not sure if he saw any screenshots before. I thought he was playing along So, there is a 21 year old game uncovered and it is called Quadromania. It is a finished game, meaning that it has everything from start to finish. There's around 10 levels (at least), but Robert mentioned it might need some additional levels. I did manage to create the official encrypted headers and have put it on a EEPROM based cartridge, so it is publish-ready. We (as in me and people who are willing to help out with the manufacturing and logistics) will release it in some form for the 25th anniversary. Presumably a nice cartridge with a box. I asked 108stars to look into some artwork for the box, but we have to continue the conversation.I also have to work on the source code for the game, because the backup set had most of it, but there were some sound files missing. I am trying to reconstruct it all and see if I can compile the sources myself. They are Epyx dev kit sources in assembler. I was lucky enough to also find the compiled .rom files that you can run on the Pinky/Mandy set. Creating the .lyx and .lnx files from there was pretty easy and it allowed me to run the game even though it didn't have an encrypted header yet. I wrote some tooling that does the encryption exactly like the Epyx tools do (with the checksum and the original Epyx two-stage header checking the checksum). Tested on actual hardware and it all works fine. More will be told in time. I will put out some real screenshots and might do a video of the gameplay. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GadgetUK Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Great stuff!! This is not as cruel as first thought =) You've come a long way in what you've achieved, you really are a smart cookie! Can't wait to see the end results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saffron1 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Nice, I am new to the forum, sounds like a great game, what about super fighter team who released Zaku? They did a great job with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isgoed Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 This sounds amazing!! I am looking forward to see the actual screenshots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorclu Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 So, there is a 21 year old game uncovered and it is called Quadromania. It is a finished game, meaning that it has everything from start to finish. There's around 10 levels (at least), but Robert mentioned it might need some additional levels.... More will be told in time. I will put out some real screenshots and might do a video of the gameplay. Looking forward to the screenshots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFG 9000 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 They're all from different games. Some of them look like ST games, and I think that Darius Twin screenshot looks like it's from a C64. Was it ported to the C64? According to this site: (http://www.midnightsynergy.com/ancient.htm), they're from an R-Type clone made for the Lynx named Dark Star. The sprite for the ship is the same in each screenshot, so they certainly all look to be from one game. That last screenshot in particular looks straight out of R-Type. Nice prank. It had me going, especially since I didn't check the date of this thread before reading. It will be good to see what Quadromania looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninjabba Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Congrats on your findings, that must've been an exciting discovery! Lets have a blast with the 25th anniversary! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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