Affinity:Sorrow

[Zebbe]

Yeah, when are we going to see some action games? How about a shooter, platformer, beat em up, fighting game or even a puzzle game? ANYTHING is better than yet another RPG at this point.

Why don't you make one, then?

[Sik]

It's a CD game? I thought it was a cart. Cart sram is easy to deal with. CD bram is a little more work.

No, it's a cartridge game. I even mentioned that in my post =P But if a Mega CD was connected, you'd be able to copy the savegames into the Mega CD internal back-up memory, rather than being stuck to the cartridge's save memory.

Lockables are more work depending on what they are. A different playable character would depend on how different their moves are from the regular character. Simple example - "new" character with same moves and whatnot is relatively simple compared to new character with all new moves.

No new characters =/ Actually Waterlava is meant to be an unlockable (you'd get it if you beat the game, that's why it's the last level in the list and why it's the only level that isn't related to computers at all).

I mentioned above the "practically done" was sarcasm. In particular, the last 5% of the game is often 90% of the work, and you're not even that far yet.

And that 5% is fixing bugs. But I fix the bugs as soon as I find them (this actually "slowed" down development back then as progress would be halted until the bug got fixed). I don't think there's any known bug in the game except for the broken sound engine (which should be replaced, period) or stuff that simply isn't programmed (in which case the "bug" would get fixed by just continuing development).

Meh - assembler is no biggy. Not to me at least. Been coding in pure assembly nearly as long as not. I've always enjoyed 68000 programming in particular. It does limit the pool of talent you can draw from, though. At least there's the point that many MD programmers learned the 68000 (and often the z80). As a comparison, how many PC programmers know assembly of any kind?

How many MD programmers exist and how many PC programmers exist? =P

Also the syntax part is a problem, because a lot of people learned to use AS, which has somewhat different syntax for some relatively advanced features, or GAS (to go along with GCC), which has completely different syntax for anything that isn't an opcode, and that's going by the assumption MRI compatibility mode is being used. So that alone is asking for trouble as well.

Well, it is your game and ideas, so it would make sense that you'd have that kind of control over it.

Some people here wouldn't tolerate it at all claiming I'm letting people steal the work.

[Melf]

Why are you worrying about unlockables and writing the memory to the CD? Those sound like things to consider AFTER the game is done.

[BeaglePuss]

Thanks for the plug Zebbe!

As for the game, we've made a great deal of progress over the course of the past few months. Much of the development has been kept under-wraps as it's a bit too early to unveil. We'll certainly post updates on our message boards, these boards, Sega Age, and even our Twitter account.

I can't say much about the game being another RPG honestly. As of now there's only been a single homebrew RPG title for the system (that I know of), and it's a damn good one. We're hoping to make another memorable RPG for a console that was somewhat lacking in the genre during it's lifespan. I'm sure there will be more homebrews created for the Genesis as teams like Water Melon and ourselves show that it can (and should) be done. I know that Water Melon is working on another release, and we certainly don't plan on stopping at one.

Beyond this title, our team is currently working on producing games for other platforms such as the NES. The production-runs will be far smaller and less involved (at first), but our first collaborative release will be ready within the week. We've been working with a few different NES developers in hopes of broadening our horizons, and we're extremely pleased with how these other projects are panning out.

If anyone has suggests, please feel free to join the Airwalk Studios message boards. It's an excellent opportunity to add to the creative process while the game is still in it's infancy.

Thanks for the support, and we'll keep you posted!

[Sik]

Why are you worrying about unlockables and writing the memory to the CD? Those sound like things to consider AFTER the game is done.

Technically, the Mega CD thing does matter because it affects the savegame format (since Mega CD blocks are 64 bytes long, or 32 bytes long if you use "protected" mode but that isn't available cartridge-side for obvious reasons). The unlockables also matter since they may make some assumptions stop being true anymore, and those can be harder to hack in later (not to mention they also affect the savegame format since they have to be stored!).

Adding eye candy like shinny blinking rhombuses would qualify more towards being added at the end, really.

We're hoping to make another memorable RPG for a console that was somewhat lacking in the genre during it's lifespan.

The Mega Drive wasn't really lacking all that much in RPGs, it's just that SNES got all the Square ones and nobody cared about non-Square RPGs with very few exceptions, which is why the Mega Drive ended up looking like it had very few RPGs (now, how many MD RPGs suck or not, that's a different thing).

I'd be more worried about homebrewers taking up on the hardest tasks. I mean, RPGs are probably the hardest genre to make on the console, and a lot of homebrewers are just starting and have no idea what it takes up to handle a big project. Just look what happened to Pier Solar, it went into development hell and took six years to complete. You'd think people would be smarter.

[Chilly Willy]

The thing is, CD bram is only 8KB and you have to share it with other games; some space is lost to formatting/file handling. The cart sram can be 32KB and is not shared. Forget trying to use bram if you're not a CD game.

Syntax on assembly isn't a big deal - once you know assembly, adjusting to a different syntax is easy. Certainly much easier than learning assembly in the first place. It's harder to get everyone to agree on tab styles and comments than to adjust to syntax.

I'd be more worried about homebrewers taking up on the hardest tasks. I mean, RPGs are probably the hardest genre to make on the console, and a lot of homebrewers are just starting and have no idea what it takes up to handle a big project. Just look what happened to Pier Solar, it went into development hell and took six years to complete. You'd think people would be smarter.

Yeah! We need more pong and breakout clones!

I wouldn't think RPGs are the hardest from a programming point of view. I think a platformer would be.

[djshok]

Man if someone would finish Project MD that would be beyond awesome. I love that game. What's there is great, it would be fantatic to have a finished product. I'd love to make some box art for it too

[Sik]

The thing is, CD bram is only 8KB and you have to share it with other games; some space is lost to formatting/file handling. The cart sram can be 32KB and is not shared. Forget trying to use bram if you're not a CD game.

The cartridge's own memory would still be the main storage media, the Mega CD option is offered for back-up purposes. Geez, how hard is it to understand that the game would support both? =P

Also, with the content that would be available currently, Project MD would need a grand total of... 4 bits. Serious. We could probably later add things like saving some options (if we add them) and such, but it'll still fit in a single Mega CD block anyways. So it really shouldn't be an issue.

And you forget that you can use this to copy the data between cartridges

Syntax on assembly isn't a big deal - once you know assembly, adjusting to a different syntax is easy. Certainly much easier than learning assembly in the first place. It's harder to get everyone to agree on tab styles and comments than to adjust to syntax.

Until you figure out nobody wants to switch assemblers. Hint: asmx is buggy, snasm68 and asm68k are both closed source and in fact no homebrewer really owns a legal license to use it. That scares people away, you know =P (OK, technically nobody should even have the MD documentation for starters...)

Yeah! We need more pong and breakout clones!

Yeah, because those are the only genres we have besides RPGs, sure... (wait, is there any MD breakout homebrew?)

I wouldn't think RPGs are the hardest from a programming point of view. I think a platformer would be.

No, platformers are pretty easy to make really programming-wise. The only hard thing would be the object manager, but that's true for other genres too.

RPGs have lots of assets though, and that's a serious issue.

EDIT: should I learn Japanese and try to bribe AnalYoGirl into finishing the game programming? (and maybe provide Stephany's voice) =P

[BeaglePuss]

I'd be more worried about homebrewers taking up on the hardest tasks. I mean, RPGs are probably the hardest genre to make on the console, and a lot of homebrewers are just starting and have no idea what it takes up to handle a big project. Just look what happened to Pier Solar, it went into development hell and took six years to complete. You'd think people would be smarter.

RPGs might appear harder at a glance, but in order to make a good shmup or fighter it would take some serious time/skill. I think an RPG makes perfect sense for a first time large-scale project. Beyond that, the team really wanted to make an RPG, so that's how we ended up here.

We're also not as new to the homebrew scene as you may think. Our artist worked on Battle Kid which is by far and away the highest selling NES homebrew of all time. Mark and I have created thousands of games (reproductions and homebrews) for both the NES and Genesis. We've got pcbs schematics created and ready to produce, and we're ironing out the details on cart/shell sourcing. We've been doing this for a few years now, so a project of this scale is a logical next step. Adam created Hangman as a way of getting his feet wet in Genny programming, but he's a skilled and experienced programmer. Work on the project is going extremely smooth at the moment, and we couldn't be happier.

Pier Solar took some time and certainly had some set backs, but it ultimately became the most successful homebrew in the history of our hobby. Much like us they had plenty of people that were excited from the beginning, while others were skeptical. We have high expectations for our project, and we're sure we'll provide a product that classic gamers will enjoy.

[Sik]

RPGs might appear harder at a glance, but in order to make a good shmup or fighter it would take some serious time/skill. I think an RPG makes perfect sense for a first time large-scale project.

No, the amount of assets a RPG requires is huge in comparison to other genres. RPGs may not risk eating up 100% CPU, but they still require a huge amount of work because of all the data that needs to be made.

Each to its own, I guess...

[BeaglePuss]

Each to its own, I guess...

Yeah, that's pretty much what it boils down to I suppose.

Are you planning on doing a wide-scale release of Project MD, or is it just something you've done on the side for fun? From what I've seen on youtube the game has some potential to be fun. It looks polished from what I can tel.

[Sik]

It started as a project to kill boredom... that's why the engine is so lame. Its technology is subpar even for late NES games, it doesn't have vertical scrolling or slopes at all, and it shows (the game is boring, seriously, and the power-up system doesn't make up for it).

[Guntz]

Why don't you make one, then?

I would definitely make one, but I don't know enough to program the Genesis yet. I should pick up C or something and learn that for a while. Perhaps one day, there will be a new game being written by Guntz, the Sega-16 user nobody knew.

Also, I too did not know Project MD was for the Sega CD. Isn't that name wrong then? Pretty darn impressive. I thought the Sega CD wasn't well documented, or at least it was tough to program for.

[BeaglePuss]

It started as a project to kill boredom... that's why the engine is so lame. Its technology is subpar even for late NES games, it doesn't have vertical scrolling or slopes at all, and it shows (the game is boring, seriously, and the power-up system doesn't make up for it).

Even with all that, the game has some serious potential. People seem to be into the idea of a new MD platformer (myself included), and it would be really cool if it originated from Sega-16.

[Sik]

Also, I too did not know Project MD was for the Sega CD. Isn't that name wrong then? Pretty darn impressive. I thought the Sega CD wasn't well documented, or at least it was tough to program for.

*headdesk*

It's a cartridge game, dammit. It just happens to be able to use the Mega CD if present for an extra optional feature (which right now isn't even programmed other than some text in the options menu). Just like how Pier Solar can use the Mega CD but it isn't required.

Even with all that, the game has some serious potential. People seem to be into the idea of a new MD platformer (myself included), and it would be really cool if it originated from Sega-16.

I don't think I'd label it from Sega-16, especially considering how it was announced on Sega Retro much before it was on Sega-16.

But yeah, the only redeeming point so far is that it's a new platformer (with some weird art direction maybe). I think people should expect at least the basics to be done properly, right? As it is, it looks like a Super Mario Bros wannabe =P

And in case somebody wonders, the idea was to release the ROM and make money off selling cartridges.