Hi to all you old amiga farts like me.
After all crappy fights we do on most amiga sites, I was thinking about why we love amiga computers from first fime. Let's take a look behind on times when computing was fun.
Amiga was fun. Creative little machine. Programs like DPaint, Octamed, Real3D, DemoMaker, Fantavision, Brilliance, Lightwave and many many more and lots of fun to do something nice, that was a true amiga spirit. Oh and games that we all love, something like Elite/Frontier, Eye of the beholder, Captive, Monkey Island, that was a fun.

So my maybe stupid idea is...let's make a game, big game, addictive game all together.
Game that can run on all amiga systems.
We all know that good addictive game is not superb 3D graphic or ultra high resolution.
Imagine mix of Elite, Eye of Beholder or Captive on steroids with space fights like new/old RPG like FF. Traveling from planet to planet or station is only single click on command, then distance range is start to change to zero. In that time animations/pictures of traveling thru space can be played with some nice mod music in background.
During that time random encounters will also pop on screen. Then screen can be changed in strategic/talk-trade/combat mode with experience points after conversation, fight...
Planets, stations, bases can be in good old EOB fashion. Planets can be big, bases medium and stations small maps. Many secret areas, stuff to sell, buy, take, examine, mission to complete.
I have lots of idea and what can make fight in space more interesting then clicking only X in last FF on PS3. Also Elite/Frontier type of space fight is not for me any more.

All this can be done in Hollywood, I know that many of you will say...no no Hollywood is to slow, but Hollywood is awesome piece of software, still in developing and Andreas is making awesome job in every new version.
I love Hollywood and for this type of game is ideal. (all systems and good old software that we love in past can be used to make datas for game).
Yes its a big job, but can be fun and if we together put all what know, we can make a big multiplatform game with online support and that can make money people.
Money that can start to roll the ball.
If Plants vs Zombie (which is good game) can make money, then can make this.
Yes I am to optimistic about all this, but at least I wanna found a point of being old amiga fart.

I have all Amiga systems and I love them all but game must exist outside Amiga community where we can make real money.

Sorry for my bad English and what you think about this. Any idea is welcome.

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Amiga_Os3-Os4-Mos User!!!

@Condor

I have been there, several times

The number one problem about making a game: TIME!

The number two problem if we are on Amiga: the slowest ship in the fleet dictates the speed.
So if you say ALL Amigas, where does ALL start? With A500? Such a game will suck on modern machines. It doenst have to be the greatest 3D graphics with all nifty shader tricks, tesselation, motion captures characters etc. but nowadays you expect at least some kind of decend artwort that doesnt look like from the 80ties. If you are considering Hollywood, you have probably WinUAE, AROS, OS4 and MOS in mind, no classic.

The number three problem: Content.
It is not so much the programming. Here are many skilled programmers that can code the AmigaOS API well . But the content is usually the problem. This is why many games reach the level of a tech demo, and then, when it comes to creating the actual content (e.g. the storyline, the levels, the maps etc.) the project dies.

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Author of
HD-Rec, Sweeper, Samplemanager, ArTKanoid, Monkeyscript, Toadies, AsteroidsTR, TuiTED, PosTED, TKPlayer, AudioConverter, ScreenCam, PerlinFX, MapEdit, AB3 Includes and many more...
Homepage: http://www.hd-rec.de

Then there is the 4th problem... who accepts whatever definition of "Amiga" and tries to push for one or the other for the detriment of the project as a whole?

I'm doing a couple of projects for myself to target ALL *4* current targets... but in MorphOS and AROS case it will need extra work (if someone wants to explain how I can add support for those two without obtuse SDI headers or extra material beyond the bare essentials...)

I am deliberately choosing the path I am to show exactly what the essentials are for the various flavours

Ahh well...
Who defines "Amiga" as only the 680x0 machines...
Who includes the "AmigaOS4.x" AmigaONE hardware?
Who includes AROS?
Who includes MorphOS?

Personally I include all of them...whoop de do... but is anyone interested in supporting what is available now?
And not just looking for "what may be?"

@Belxjander

condor wants to do this project in Hollywood, which should mean that it will run on all platforms that Hollywood supports. That is why his comments about having the project run on mainstream platforms, so it can have a chance to make some money.

Good luck condor in getting enough other members interested in such a project and being able to keep everyone interested from beginning to end. Getting started with a project is much easier than keeping everyone interested long enough to get a game finished.

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Amiga! The computer that inspired so many, to accomplish so much, but has ended up in the hands of . . . . . . . . . .

@Condor

If you need any music check my old tunes at my page. Both old tracker and newer mp3 tunes. Dont know if anything is usefull but at least if somebody wants to do anything its free to use.

@Wanderer

Quote:

So if you say ALL Amigas, where does ALL start? With A500? Such a game will suck on modern machines

Classic Amiga users such as myself could run the game using emulation on a faster system. The graphics would still be primitive by today's standards, but I don't think that matters much.

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"Unix is supposed to fix that." -- Jay Miner

@Condor

As much as I admire your enthusiasm and wish you luck with your idea/ project all I can tell you is, there was there was a guy just a few months ago here and on the other Amiga sites who tired to encourage folk to start writing some new games and stuff for the Amiga (Amiten he was called)...

He even set up a new website where everyone involved could set up their ideas/ projects and provided a secure way if you needed it of keeping your source code safe and not have other stealing your ideas. I got involved in it myself but after less than two months the whole thing went belly up for a number of reasons and is now no more...

Like I say I wish you luck and hope you well but from what I have seen your going to have a very difficult if not impossible task ahead of you...

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@Condor

This brings up the old divide: real-time shooter vs. turn-based strategy. I'd rather see a game like Civ 4 or Alpha Centauri. Real-time shooters have little depth because it's mainly a matter of memorizing how to kill Character A so you can advance to Location B. Such games have never succeeded in keeping my interest for long.

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@thinkchip

I would wonder about mixing things up even further...have a Civilization style game where you also get Isometric or top-down strategy style with the further option of selecting a specific unit and being First-Person in-map from that unit...

@amigadave

I have no experience with Hollywood but anything I would consider as a game worth playing may be good with that in part, yet may need parts written outside of Hollywood as well.

Can we do a mixed game at all?

Go with the strengths of each of the platforms for a different style of play which works in the same environment?

Network "Team" play where any player may become a Team member or declare war on another player?

@Belxjander

Your idea sounds a bit like sins of a solar empire. That would be an interesting concept to bring to amiga.

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Admin at Commodore Gaming Wiki

@CritAnime

Never played "Sins of a Solar Empire" but I did read about it on steam...

I'm also already developing my own projects as well, both of them are up on Google Code with me as the Owner/Developer

I used mspaint once, i'll do the concept art
someone make the wiki

@Belxjander

Fifth problem... projects die when they reach critical mass with 158 beta testers, 76 icon painters, 37 doc writers, 27 translators and 0 coders.

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Amiga Developer
Amiga 500, Efika, Mac Mini and PowerBook

@itix

To my experience, a project has usually 1 coder, 0 icon painters (if you don't count Mason and Ken), 0 beta testers, -1 doc writers, and 2 translators (between english and german).

_________________
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Author of
HD-Rec, Sweeper, Samplemanager, ArTKanoid, Monkeyscript, Toadies, AsteroidsTR, TuiTED, PosTED, TKPlayer, AudioConverter, ScreenCam, PerlinFX, MapEdit, AB3 Includes and many more...
Homepage: http://www.hd-rec.de

@startup-sequence.bat

Quote:

I used mspaint once, i'll do the concept art

Heheheh

PS. There is ((un)fortunately(?)) no .bat in startup-sequence. Busted!!
PS2. Welcome You seem to be rather new here

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- Don't get fooled by my avatar, I'm not like that (anymore, mostly... maybe only sometimes)
> Amiga Classic and OS4 developer for OnyxSoft.

@Wanderer

Quote:

With A500? Such a game will suck on modern machines. It doenst have to be the greatest 3D graphics with all nifty shader trick tesselation, motion captures characters etc. but nowadays you expect at least some kind of decend artwort that doesnt look like from the 80ties.

I think your wrong there, look at one of the biggest games of last year, Angry Birds, graphics wise I see no reason why an A500 could'nt do it, the physics would be only the hard part. Plus have you seen a game called VVVVVV it has even more basic graphics (like ZX or C64 stly) and yet won Indie game of the year.

@Franko
Quote:

there was there was a guy just a few months ago here and on the other Amiga sites who tired to encourage folk to start writing

Thats a shame, I do remember seeing that and thinking maybe I would help out on joint project.

I just got Hollywood a few weeks ago, now not being a great programer and not having a great deal of time, I think it will take me a while to get to grips with the program, Designer makes it a lot easier but not sure if i could make a platformer or complex game in it, you do need coding skills then, but I have a few little other projects planned, about 50% complete with my first project. So maybe once I get a bit more to grips with the program I would be up for helping on a slightly bigger project. Time is my biggest enermy.

Plus I cant help to think it might be better if we worked together on a program/app not a game, OWB is a good example of how all the camps can work together to make a good program and the whole community could do with more creative and office apps.

Last edited by amigang on 13-Apr-2012 at 11:28 AM.
Last edited by amigang on 13-Apr-2012 at 11:24 AM.

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AmigaNG, YouTube, LeaveReality Studio

Thank you guys for all this realistic minds.

I was thinking something like this....

1. System?
-all platforms supported with Hollywood.

2. Resolution?
-min 640x480 in true color with full screen or window mode setup

3. How to do this?
-"Engine" can (must) be maked in Hollywood with (just for start) 3 interactive objects/people/locations and maps. Just to collect all variables that can be used in whole game. (this is very important if we wanna that external script system is used in future)
First we can make startup screen with start, load, save, score, message board, settings (this is very Important on first stage of making engine) and quit button.

Than put all variables in some kind of database or external script system that can be
edited without touching engine. So after that we can have simple game with only 2 or 3 locations that can read any new external script. Scripts that can be edited by anyone who have a simple editor and free time to make new character, location, enemy or task. So knowelage about engine/hollywood programing is not necessary for make new stuff in game and anyone can make new base or character

4. What we need?
Hollywood users for start, artists with free time, also people who can make music, effects, people with good ideas of making game even better (any platform of software can be used). So people from A500 to lastest X86 machine can make something useful for final game.

I was working on something like this in last few years....I was make a simple engine which run fine even on classic+PPC+GFX card systems. Then I was create some ships, locations, people in LW on my Mos and Classic amigas. With LW and Brilliance I was make some nice buttons/icons in PNG format that I use later in my "engine".
Then I put one mod in game and few sound effects and everything start to looking like one cute amiga game.

After that I put everything together and that simple game was a really nice and to simple because I was not used any external data or script and everything new must be added directly in code, so this source is waste of time. But with this I found that Hollywood is ideal software for making such type of game. (and I am not Hollywood expert)

Game must have good skill/leveling system, something like Fallout 1-2 type of game and strategic type of action and fights. (turn based or with action points)
This is good way to make really fun, good, addictive game.

@amigadave, @Kicko
Thanks guys.

Quote:

Franko wrote: Like I say I wish you luck and hope you well but from what I have seen your going to have a very difficult if not impossible task ahead of you...

Ok Franko you can be a story writter, good start.

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Amiga_Os3-Os4-Mos User!!!

@Deniil715

Quote:

PS. There is ((un)fortunately(?)) no .bat in startup-sequence. Busted!!

Really? What an amazing thing!

Quote:

PS2. Welcome You seem to be rather new here

Thanks. I always dreamed to be part of the vast and cutting edge amiga community.

@Condor

Heres two thoughts from me.

1. I think if you want a project like this to succeed, someone should clearly lead the project in sense that he would have a plan in paper or something and then simply force the rest to do everything the way he already have decided.

I mean, As you already noticed there came people talking of, rather civilization etc.

So make a clear plan. Planet to planet traveling by clicking planet from a map that gives you short animation and possible random event, space stations in EOB style.

Character in RPG system, gains xp, etc.

Plus the plot.


And then people can decide wether they want to join the project or not.

If they say, rather RTS or Civilization, you can simply say, sorry, not this project.


If you start letting people give all RTS etc. ideas, then either people will be disappointed, or project will become a mess.



Anotehr thought, as VVVVVV was already mentioned, one possiblity for graphics would be to do them 320x256, making them so called pixel graphics.

That would give nice antique look and also suit for EOB game fans well, and hence make it maybe easier to market since the target audience is more clear.

@Condor

long time no see condor, what happened to your old game project? . i miss that one :(

as for hollywood, sure one could make one there but..

why not make a parody game on the whole current Amiga Scene? , all the fights, the bickering, etc.

Now that would be a awesome game.


anyway ... dunno about what other thinks but an adventure game (point and click) is what i want the most :p (if its a hollywood game)

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