• immediate & addictive gameplay;
  
• immersive & thrilling action;
  
• 25 challenging missions divided into 5 levels of difficulty;
  
• multi-phase missions;
  
• battlefields of any size and shape (also spread over multiple floors);
  
• AI-driven enemies;
  
• hand-pixelled 2D graphics;
  
• real-time lighting;
  
• atmospheric audio;
  
• full expandibility (themes, missions, languages);
  
• Deutsch, English, Español, Français and Italiano translations.

Hi all,

I just wanted to say that I will be happy to answer any questions, but also that I will not be able to do it in the next few hours - in the worst case, my answers will come tomorrow. In the meanwhile, feel free to ask questions and make comments.

Thanks.

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

It looks great./ I look forward to play it.

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Amiga-Look.org - Beautify your Workbench

Hi Saimo!
it seems rather interesting!
maybe I'll buy a copy :)

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Simone"Tuxedo"Monsignori, Perugia, ITALY.

This really looks like a better candidate for a buy/download now product versus a boxed + instruction book set...

Good luck with it, though

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Are we not done with the same silly arguments and flames yet??!

@walkero

Quote:

It looks great./ I look forward to play it.

Thank you. I hope you will have tons of fun with it

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

@Tuxedo

Quote:

it seems rather interesting!

Well, I believe it is... and with the upcoming updates/expansions it will be even more

Quote:

maybe I'll buy a copy :)

We would be pleased to receive your order

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

@wegster

Quote:

This really looks like a better candidate for a buy/download now product versus a boxed + instruction book set...

I understand you. However, I thought that a "tangible" (and inexpensive) product would please Amiga users. It is something the Amiga market is currently missing, after all.

Quote:

Good luck with it, though

Thank you

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

Nice to see it released finally! :D Good luck with sales!

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AOS4 Betatester, Peg2, G4@1ghz, Radeon 9250 256mb, 1gb RAM.

http://www.asciiarena.com
http://www.uprough.net

Hi,

Can't download the trailer with AWeb and OWB, I had to use IBrowse.

I don't like playing computer or any type of video game but it's seems to be a well done game, good luck!

Bye!

Technical questions:

Does the CPU rotate the screen? Or the gfx card?

What resolution does the game run at?

_________________
Wanna try a wonderfull magical Amiga strategy game?
Total Chaos AGA

Nice!

I'll be buying one in the next few weeks as soon s I have an Amiga again.

Suggestions, to help sales:
* A screenshot in the news item would be really great!
* The web site could do with a few more screen shots, perhaps on a dedicated screenshots page (and perhaps without thumbnails).
* It took 1 min 30 seconds before I saw any actual game play in the trailer - this is FAR too long. Especially as the stuff before that looks really crap (sorry). Actual gameplay looked interesting, perhaps stick your feature list AFTER the gameplay?

Questions:
* I wonder if this game will run on a standard screen resolution like 640x480 ?
* And what the maximum screen resolution is on (say) a Sam440?

Gameplay thoughts:
* It's strange that you don't see any walls, just black space. Especially as this black space is exactly like the black space of your "blind spot" (what you cannot physically see). I guess too late to fix this.

* It would look less juddery/computery if the visible squares being replaced by black (un-seeable) squares was smooth(er), rather than just a sudden thing. Would make it feel much more professional, and I guess maybe not too hard to add (although may increase CPU requirements slightly, so might need to be optional).

Last edited by ChrisH on 05-Apr-2009 at 10:18 AM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 05-Apr-2009 at 10:17 AM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 05-Apr-2009 at 10:12 AM.

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

@spotUP

Quote:

Nice to see it released finally! :D

Yep, the delay lasted two months for unbelieveable reasons... at least, during this time, I could develop two new themes and improved the game further

Quote:

Good luck with sales!

Thanks!

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

@Pierre55

Quote:

I don't like playing computer or any type of video game but it's seems to be a well done game, good luck!

Thank you

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

@ChaosLord

Quote:

Technical questions: Does the CPU rotate the screen? Or the gfx card?

Everything is done by the CPU. Rotation is interpolated and much smoother than shown in the trailer
If you are concerned about CPU power: almost a year ago m3x told me the game runs OK also on low-entry machines, and since then there have been also several optimizations

Quote:

What resolution does the game run at?

320x240. The other resolutions listed on the website are there to allow playing on screen with ratios other than 4:3 without deformation due to stretching.
The low resolution has been chosen on purpose because the game is meant to have a partially "retro" feeling: graphics are entirely hand-pixelled and their beauty can be appreciated only when pixels *are* visible (not to mention that it is not feasible to create hand-pixelled graphics at high resolutions). At the same time, the game utilizes "modern" techniques like the abovementioned rotation, real-time lighting (all at 24-bit) and 8-bit alphachannel. It is a mix a old and new under every aspect.
Finally, as regards resolutions: the version on sale also allows to play in a window at 1x, 2x, 3x and 4x zoom; moreover, there will be an update that will allow zooming also for full-screen modes (and offer better overall fullscreen support). Before releasing the update, I will wait for feedback in order to make it even better for users.

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

@Amigo1

Quote:

Nice! I'll be buying one in the next few weeks as soon s I have an Amiga again.

Much appreciated

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

@Chris

Quote:

Suggestions, to help sales:

Very welcome, thank you!

Quote:

* A screenshot in the news item would be really great!

Question to moderators: is it still possible to add one?

Quote:

* The web site could do with a few more screen shots, perhaps on a dedicated screenshots page (and perhaps without thumbnails).

OK, as soon as I can, I'll add a page.

Quote:

* It took 1 min 30 seconds before I saw any actual game play in the trailer - this is FAR too long. Especially as the stuff before that looks really crap (sorry). Actual gameplay looked interesting, perhaps stick your feature list AFTER the gameplay?

No problem about the criticism.
The first part is meant to let the viewer get used to the basic mechanisms: elements are added one after another at a distance of few seconds.

Quote:

Questions: * I wonder if this game will run on a standard screen resolution like 640x480 ? * And what the maximum screen resolution is on (say) a Sam440?

The fullscreen resolutions supported by the version on sale are those listed on the website. As said in another post above, there will be an update that will improve fullscreen handling: more precisely, you will be able to choose between any resolution defined on your system and also change the zoom level, if you want.

Quote:

Gameplay thoughts: * It's strange that you don't see any walls, just black space. Especially as this black space is exactly like the black space of your "blind spot" (what you cannot physically see). I guess too late to fix this.

There is nothing to fix indeed
The black walls are a choice relative to the default theme only: it increases the claustrophobia effect and, if you think about it, in reality you cannot see on top of walls
However, other themes *can* use graphics - f.ex., see the "castle" theme preview screenshot in the DOWNLOADS page of the website.

Quote:

* It would look less juddery/computery if the visible squares being replaced by black (un-seeable) squares was smooth(er), rather than just a sudden thing. Would make it feel much more professional, and I guess maybe not too hard to add (although may increase CPU requirements slightly, so might need to be optional).

This is indeed a design choice: I just love tile-based stuff
You see, this game is meant to have a strong "retro" flavour, and that is part of it.

Thank you for your thoughts!

saimo

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

Quote:

The fullscreen resolutions supported by the version on sale are those listed on the website.

This is what worried me. I don't think that most LCD monitors support resolutions below 640x480, and certainly it is not a standard Picasso96 resolution.

However, am I glad to hear that you are working on a fix, and that one can use window mode until then.

Quote:

There is nothing to fix indeed The black walls are a choice relative to the default theme only: it increases the claustrophobia effect and, if you think about it, in reality you cannot see on top of walls However, other themes *can* use graphics - f.ex., see the "castle" theme preview screenshot in the DOWNLOADS page of the website.

I am glad to hear that visible walls only require a theme change. While you can't normally see the TOP of walls, you can normally see the SIDE of walls, so the lack of any sort of visual indication of walls just seems strange/archaic (especially when mixed with blind-spot black squares).

Further gameplay thoughts:
Your game looks like quite a nice take on Alien Breed & Guantlet. I especially like you using the "blind spot" idea, which has been EXTREMELY underused since Switchblade.

EDIT:Quote:

This is indeed a design choice: I just love tile-based stuff

What is stopping you from fading the individual TILES from visible to black? It will still be tile based! Just not quite such a big visual shock.

Last edited by ChrisH on 05-Apr-2009 at 12:56 PM.
Last edited by ChrisH on 05-Apr-2009 at 12:56 PM.

_________________
Author of the PortablE programming language.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue...

@ChrisH

Quote:

Quote: The fullscreen resolutions supported by the version on sale are those listed on the website. This is what worried me. I don't think that most LCD monitors support resolutions below 640x480, and certainly it is not a standard Picasso96 resolution.

I have here an Acer AL1916W (LCD, native resolution: 1440x900) and I must say that I have no problems on AmigaOS: since its ratio is 16:10, all need to do to play the game with perfect ratio is adding this tooltype to the monitor icon: 384x240x32@60. Otherwise, the game would choose automatically the best mode available.
On Windows XP things are not just as fine, but still I can play in fullscreen (albeit with slightly stretched visuals).
If one cannot just get fullscreen to work, he can play in a window at 1x, 2x, 3x or 4x zoom.
However, there is no denying that there is better solution, which leads us to the next answer

Quote:

However, am I glad to hear that you are working on a fix, and that one can use window mode until then.

The "fix" (it is not really a fix, but a policy change) has been working since a lot of time now
You see (I must have said this somewhere else, but I cannot remember where), the copies were ready 2 months ago, but the sales have been delayed for accounting reasons. In the meanwhile, I kept on working on the game, so I have now a finished update and also 2 additional themes (one of them needs the audio part to be finished, though). I will release the update after I get feedback from users, so that I can add/modify stuff according to the response.

edit: forgotten to answer to the parts below

Quote:

Further gameplay thoughts: Your game looks like quite a nice take on Alien Breed & Guantlet.

I have never seen Gauntlet (but I know Gauntlet it is famous), however BOH was definitely inspired also by Alien Breed. Indeed, here is what you can find in the "TRIVIA" section of the manual: "As regards the gameplay, BOH was inspired by these C64 titles: Wizard of Wor, The Amazing Spider-Man and Impossible Mission I and II; from a technical point of view, inspiration came from the MS-DOS version of Shadowlands and a coin-op Formula 1 game (maybe Tail to Nose); other games that may have had an influence are Alien Breed II and The Chaos Engine, both for the Amiga computer".

Quote:

I especially like you using the "blind spot" idea, which has been EXTREMELY underused since Switchblade.

I do not know Switchblade, too
Anyway, here is some information about how it all works.
The player normally has a sight field of 180° (90° to the left and 90° to the right); if he picks up a power-up called "360° visor", the sight field expands to 360°. However, he will only see what is covered by the light he is carrying - there are 3 types of light: faint light (90° cone), mid light (180°) and big light (360°). Range and hue also depend on the kind of light.

Quote:

What is stopping you from fading the individual TILES from visible to black? It will still be tile based! Just not quite such a big visual shock.

You see, it is just that I like that visual shock
Moreover, implementing the fading you suggest would be neither trivial nor CPU-friendly.

saimo

Last edited by saimo on 05-Apr-2009 at 02:04 PM.

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC

Hi all,

I just wanted to inform you that now the DOWNLOADS page of the website allows you to get hold of the PDF version of the user's manual (including the updated version relative to the upcoming update). Having a look at it is highly recommended to get a good idea of what the game offers

edit: I have also added a screenshots page, which includes 3 new grabs (more will come later).

saimo

Last edited by saimo on 05-Apr-2009 at 04:21 PM.
Last edited by saimo on 05-Apr-2009 at 03:08 PM.
Last edited by saimo on 05-Apr-2009 at 03:00 PM.

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RETREAM - retro dreams for Amiga, Commodore 64 and PC