These are the commercial games I'm aware of that were released for the 128 :
A Mind Forever Voyaging
Beyond Zork
Bureaucracy
Das Ding (may not have been released as a commercial program)
Elite 128
Kikstart 128 (or Kikstart 2 - or were they different ?)
Leather Goddesses of Phobos
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Thai Boxing
The Last V8
Trinity
Were there others ?
Wasn't one of the Ultima series also released for the C128 ?
Oz
Quote from: OzOneWasn't one of the Ultima series also released for the C128 ?
Oz
I think you have in mind a conversion that was attempted of Ultima V by a fan - I don't believe it was overly succesfull though!
Might this list (http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.cbm/msg/70b26b13082e1c2d) be of use or interest to you?
Quote from: gklingerMight this list (http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.cbm/msg/70b26b13082e1c2d) be of use or interest to you?
That lists Ultima V as a released game after all - wonder where some of those might be available ? Time to Google!
cheers,
Lance
Quote from: adminQuote from: gklingerMight this list (http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.cbm/msg/70b26b13082e1c2d) be of use or interest to you?
That lists Ultima V as a released game after all - wonder where some of those might be available ? Time to Google!
cheers,
Lance
Yep, Ultima V was released for the 128. The 128 version was mostly the same as the 64 one except that the 128 release had sound. The sound for the 128 version can be downladed at http://www.joxter.net/stones/ticmanis-stones.mp3
Since I didn't have a monitor for 80 columns, Ultima V was one of the few games which really made me happy to be a 128 owner -- I can't imagine playing it without music.
It seems to me a number of games supported the 1571's burst mode for greatly improved loading speed -- Cinemaware games come to mind, but I know I had others as well. Of course, Cinemaware games already loaded pretty fast anyway since they used a decent fastloader, but I could definitely see a marked difference when booting on my 128 or on my friend's 64.
It's a shame so little came out to support VDC graphics. I know there were some Basic 8 games available for download through the Q-Link service, mostly card games and such if I remember correctly, but unfortunately I could never try them out due to my lack of a monitor. I used to know the guy who inherited Q-Link's harddrives after they shut the service down, though I've lost track of him over the years. He had intended to salvage what he could (unfortunately a lot of files were corrupted) and put what was left online, but I guess he forgot about it or couldn't do it. If the harddrives still exist, they may contain copies of some files which have more or less been lost to time.
Well. I used 80-column mode all the time on my 128. Mostly for calling ANSI BBSs with DesTerm. I also used GEOS 128 and I did a lot of my own custom programs. For example, I wrote a program (long lost now) which displayed Doodle pictures on the 80 column screen, but you had to have 64K VDC RAM to do it. What I discovered, though, is that very few 128 owners had 64K of VDC RAM. And even fewer 128 owners had an 80-column monitor. Now I'm just guessing at these statistics, but I bet only 5% of 128 owners had an 80-column monitor. And probably less than 1% of 128 owners had an 80-column monitor and 64K VDC RAM. So this would explain the lack of software development for it. I think the vast majority of 128 users (probably 95% or more) ran their C128 in 64 mode permanently.
and I'm sorry to say this, flame me if you want, but BASIC 8 sucks. I remember being so excited about it when it first came out. I bought a copy of it and found it was EXTREEMLY SLOW! Any program that was written in BASIC 8 was just as slow if not slower than any program written in BASIC 7. I never used any of them. I think Spectrum 128 was based off of BASIC8 in some manner, but it was decently fast.
Anyway, from a perspective of a collector, I now NEVER use my 128 anymore. I suppose the only thing I use my C= computers for these days is playing old games. All of the benefits of a 128 were mostly for work and communication. But as I use a PC for those things these days, the 128's extra features have no meaning. So I just pull out the 64C (or my DTV) if I want to play a game.
QuoteI wrote a program (long lost now) which displayed Doodle pictures on the 80 column screen
I read somewhere (maybe COMP.SYS.CBM) that there used to be a utility to display four Doodle screens at once in 640x400, and either the same utility or a different one which would display 6 Doodle pictures in 640x600. Was that yours?
Quote from: nikonikoQuoteI wrote a program (long lost now) which displayed Doodle pictures on the 80 column screen
I read somewhere (maybe COMP.SYS.CBM) that there used to be a utility to display four Doodle screens at once in 640x400, and either the same utility or a different one which would display 6 Doodle pictures in 640x600. Was that yours?
No, that was not mine. Mine did 1 doodle picture full screen only. And if I recall, the VDC could be put into a resolution of 320x200 with 8x8 color cells. So essentially that is what my program did. The only real conversion needed was a color table to match the colors of the VIC as closely as possible with the colors of the VDC and to change the byte order.. since the VIC stores bytes in little chunks of 8 rows (which I always thought sucked) and the VDC stored all the bytes sequentially from left to right. But the pictures viewed surprisingly well on the VDC, as I recall. In fact, I thought the colors actually ended up looking better on the VDC than they did on the VIC for many pictures.
I seem to recall working on a way that would allow you to view multi-color pictures too. The problem was the VDC has no such mode. But I think I was reasoning something along these lines. If you could get an 8x1 color cell and fill half of each cell with the foreground color and the other half with the background color, you could essentially get 160x200 resolution with unlimited color placement. So, in theory the VDC should be able to display a koala picture or other mutli-color image. But I don't think I ever got it working.
Quote from: bill.mannQuote from: adminQuote from: gklingerMight this list (http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.cbm/msg/70b26b13082e1c2d) be of use or interest to you?
That lists Ultima V as a released game after all - wonder where some of those might be available ? Time to Google!
cheers,
Lance
Yep, Ultima V was released for the 128. The 128 version was mostly the same as the 64 one except that the 128 release had sound. The sound for the 128 version can be downladed at http://www.joxter.net/stones/ticmanis-stones.mp3
Ultima V came with 128 support straight out of the original box and yes the only difference from the 64 game (mind you a big one at that) was music during gampelay
Quote from: gklingerMight this list (http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.cbm/msg/70b26b13082e1c2d) be of use or interest to you?
thanks for the link
:D
I guess that the newly released game Cloneimals (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260114951329) would count as commercial software since the optimistic author is trying to sell it for $40.
(http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/2704/6ae41ku4.jpg)
QuoteCloneimals.com (http://cloneimals.com)
The animals strike back
Though the government forbade it, the "company" secretly worked on cloning animals and plants to automatically control power equipment and machinery with artificial intelligence. The plants and animals got smart and now they are out to kill all humans. They have over run a mining colony they controlled. They have to be stopped from spreading across the solar system and killing other colonists.
The government has refused to allow its' soldiers to get killed to clean up the "company's" mess. So, they have hired you to do their dirty work. Your mission, destroy as many Cloneimals as possible with the limited supplies allotted to you by the generous "company". You get a bonus for each Cloneimal destroyed because if the government comes in, the "company" gets charged for the dirty site cleanup.
Your goal, make as much money as possible while staying alive.
Cloneimals is the only 80 column, side scrolling, arcade game for the Commodore 128. You fly through 12 side scrolling screens per wave.
Written in 100% machine language (except for the BASIC loader).
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
1) This program only runs on a C-128D or flat C-128 with the 64K VDC upgrade.
2) 80 column monochrome monitor (CGA), tested in amber and B/W modes.
3) A C-1541 semi-compatible disk drive. Has been tested on a C-1541 and MSD-SD2, should work with any other C-1541 format drive. Will work with any drive number 8-11.
Additional equipment supported, if available:
Joystick in port #2, highly recommended.
Will automatically work with the keyboard for direction control if joystick is not present.
Color 80 column RGBI (best picture)
Should work from any Commodore compatible hard drive with a binary copy.
The ideal system:
Commodore 128D with built in C-1571
80 column RGBI for full color
Joystick in port #2
I'm curious whether the game does smooth scrolling. I'm guessing no due to the presumably static info display at the bottom, but one could compensate for the shifting to make the text appear to be unaffected.
Did you notice how much he wanted for shipping? I wish him the best of luck. He'll need it.
He should take a look at his main competition in the C128 games market, Space Pirates and Starship Battles, which typically go for 99 cents plus $3 shipping.
Quote from: gklingerDid you notice how much he wanted for shipping? I wish him the best of luck. He'll need it.
Indeed.
Has anyone tried those games? Are they any good?
Quote from: gklingerHas anyone tried those games? Are they any good?
Do you mean Space Pirates and Starship Battles? If so, yes, I have tried them. Slow (they are written in BASIC 7.0) adventure-style games with a bit of animation.
CommVEx v3 info at http://www.portcommodore.com/commvex
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
http://videocam.net.au/fcug
OMG, if you can sell C128 BASIC games for .99, I can make two pockets full of change with my collection of original titles! :)
I have tryied Cloneimals and the sprites are the problems..
It must be quite hard to program a 80-col game with sprites..
/Bjorn a
Does the game try to move the sprites smoothly or do they only move by full cells?
The scrolling isn't smooth. It shows signs of a stuttering effect.
However, if you have the luxury of a SuperCPU128 the scrolling is ultra smooth :)
I wish I could see it in play. Maybe I'll email the author and ask if he has a gameplay video.
The stutter you mention makes me wonder whether he dispensed with the VDC's hardware smooth scrolling in favor of doing scrolling in software, or he's not being mindful of only updating the screen during blanking -- or alternately, at least trying to stay far enough ahead (or behind) of the beam.
Quote from: nikonikoI wish I could see it in play. Maybe I'll email the author and ask if he has a gameplay video.
Yes, a playable preview would be the best option for release. I'm not sure why something like that isn't already available.