Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on December 16, 2016, 05:21:34 PM
Looks very good. Will you add some enhancements such as  maybe sky gradient to spice it up further by the way? A gradient would definitively look cool

Some kind of gradient or parallax scrolling background would be great, and are on my list of things to investigate down the track. I haven't immediately thought of a way to do it without losing a lot of performance, but I haven't really thought much into it yet either

Quote from: p2 on December 19, 2016, 08:57:34 AM
that's a pretty strong contrast between the blocks and the background...
if they were darker, too, you could actually get a pertty creepy dark atmosphere inside this game (expecting skeletons and zombies) ^^

onestly it looks really nice, looking forward to your next gif ^.^

The tile sprites are the original graphics from the PC game, and the enemies are Blobs, Hedgehogs, Piranhas, Bats and a running Green Man

I haven't done a whole lot over the last week (been too busy Xmas shopping and playing Minecraft), but here's a quick visual update. Just general movement testing, still no animations or enemies implemented.

It was super popular back in the day! Hopefully it will be enjoyed on the CE

I've added the rest of the tile sprites and the title image. There is still a little junk showing in levels, which is just the player & enemy spawn points.

EDIT:
Download Sqrxz CE v1.0.0
Download Sqrxz World Editor v1.0.0 (for Windows)


I've had this on my to-do list for a while now, and seeing as I haven't made much progress with my other projects for a few months, I figured now is a good time. I contacted Jimmy Mardell who gave me his blessing, so I'm using the source code from his TI-86 version from 1998 (which in turn was an adaption of the Amiga/PC game) and adding/changing as required to suit the CE.

When finished, the game will play any of the TI-83(+)/85/86 worlds that people have created over the past 18 years. I'm using 16x16 tiles & sprites (taken from the PC version) to make a play screen of 240x128, plus status bars & information at the top/bottom of the screen.

The game will run any existing .8xp Sqrxz worlds, but I'll also be including a converter program to convert any .8xp, .83p or .86s worlds to .8xv app vars. That way, you can play any TI-83, TI-83+ or TI-86 worlds on your TI-84+CE and not clog up your programs list with the old .8xp files. I'm also considering writing a new level editor (for Windows).

Here's a quick screenshot. Not a whole lot happens yet, just shows the level and can scroll through. Many of the tile sprites are still missing (hence lots of junk on screen), but I'm working through those now.

Indeed - Zargul is inspired directly by Eye of the Beholder, even though admittedly I've not played EotB a great deal.

I am still working on calc stuff.. Just slowly Although the last few weeks I've been spending more time on a new project

Unfortunately, time is one of those things that many of us struggle to have enough of Human ambition always tends to overstep the boundaries of what we're capable of with the time that we have. Worse even, is that in my experience it tends to get harder as you get older in that more and more "real life" things come into play, such as marriage, having somewhere to live, having kids, etc. I'm 34 now, and never have enough time to do everything I'd like to.

All I can suggest is to make your peace with the likely fact that you can't do absolutely everything that you want, and to set priorities as to what things/activities are most important to you. It's easier said than done - especially at first - but over time you'll start to work out what things are most important to you.

I know for me on a personal level, I've not done much calc related work for the past 6 months or so due to lack of time, and other interests. I've dramatically cut back on other hobbies such as skydiving, due to having less time, and also financial reasons. I quit my band earlier this year, which was a tough decision that I question nearly every day, because the band tends to get a great response at shows and is gradually increasing its fan base. I miss it a lot. However, I chose that time to leave because we'd just toured the US (which is a big deal for a small Australian band) and it seemed like a great high note to finish on. In some ways I regret leaving, but I know it was logically the best time for it.

Generally I try to console myself my doing activities that interest me most at the time. So for example lately I've been playing more Diablo 3, although in a months time I'll probably not be doing that as often; I might be spending more time skydiving, or calculator coding, or writing short stories, or playing piano, or whatever tickles my interest the most. I know that for instance whilst I wish on some level that I was doing more calc coding right now and pushing along with AB5, Zargul, Thunderbirds and various other ideas that I have, the reality is that I'll get to them eventually when my priorities align better again, which always happens at some point

Sorry for the wall of text - but I guess what I'm trying to say is - don't be too hard on yourself. Try to find happiness in the "now", and don't stress yourself out too much over not being able to do everything at once. Life is a journey

The graphics are really cool in the original EOB, considering it was released in 1991! I actually spent a couple of hours playing the original tonight (first time I've used DOSBox in a while!) and it's quite complex; there are a lot of cool ideas that I'll be borrowing from it. I'll need to re-do my map engine to increase flexibility and design options, but it will make for a cool end product

I will definitely be adding the compass (I'm chopping up the graphics for that right now), and most likely will be doing some kind of cool background as well, possibly just using the EOB one.

There is still more to go along the bottom of the screen that I haven't implemented yet. Below is a screenshot from the original PC version. There is also the possibility of recruiting up to an additional 2 party members, for a total of 6.

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on July 17, 2016, 03:12:08 PM
Yeah I think the concern is that in a lot of those pseudo-3D RPGs, unlike in Final Fantasy and Zelda, you often get lost and run out of food or supply too fast, while in Final Fantasy, you usually know more where you are going and only have to worry about your HP. It of course depends for which difficulty level you are going for, though.

I guess I want the game to not be too easy. But not hard just for the sake of being hard, either. So I'll be trying to find a nice balance.

I've added in alternating floor/ceiling/wall tiles, so things look less static now. Also put in the blank character panels back in

Quote from: Juju on July 18, 2016, 06:36:47 AM
You no longer play with Belle Haven? Sad. I did saw they had some trouble with touring, staff and stuff, though. Hope they figured that out. I was suggesting they should go play in Québec City if they can, pretty sure they'll love it playing there.

Or you too. You'll love it too, with the old town.

Yeah I decided to finish up with the band, I played my last show with them back in March. I do miss it already, but I left because I wanted to enjoy some spare time again. I love the band and always will, but it requires a lot of time & financial commitment. I was very lucky to be a part of it for nearly 5 years, playing a lot of shows in a lot of different places! And the best part is that two of the others in the band are my brothers, so that in itself was an awesome experience!

We had a lot of trouble with our manager in the first half of the US tour last year, but we eventually asked him to leave and we parted ways. Also I had a small amount of gear stolen in Chicago, and our RV got tagged!  But hey, I guess that's all part of the experience

I'd love to get back to Canada to properly experience it one day, and I'm sure the Belle Haven guys would too!

That sounds right, it was April / May 2005 that I was travelling. Montreal reminded me a lot of Melbourne, just with a lot of French influence! It's a really nice city.

Most of the Belle Haven stuff is announced on Facebook these days.

Certainly, I hope to return to the USA one day, and Canada as well. I did visit Canada briefly back in 2005, but only Montreal and only for 4-5 days. On a slightly related note, one of my skydiving buddies is from Toronto!

Whilst I wouldn't be there, you might still get the chance to see Belle Haven - the band is still going, just with another drummer now There are no plans made in the immediate future, but they are intending to return to North America again when they can afford it.

I live in Australia, so meeting up with other community members isn't always easy (even though tr1p1ea and I only live 1-1.5hrs drive from each other!)

But I did meet Patrick D back in 2006 when he came to Australia, and again this year as well!

Also last year when I was in the USA, I met Kerm & Elfprince for breakfast, and I also met Merth who came along to see my band playing on tour, which was awesome

Well if you ever happen to find yourself near Melbourne, Australia, be sure to let me know!

That's cool that you guys got to meet up! I was lucky enough to first meet Patrick back in 2006, and then just a few months ago he was here as well.

I'm happy to say that this time around, we were successful in finding some kangaroos

There aren't many of us left from pre-2000 days, but real life tends to take over eventually, especially for those with families, etc. It's hard to believe that in 2018 it will be 20 years since I got my TI-83, started messing about with programming on it and found the online community. I guess time flies when you're having fun!

Quote from: Unicorn on July 17, 2016, 01:25:38 AM
Are you planning to make this game as complicated as Eye of the beholder? Anyways, good luck!

Heh, I'm not really sure yet. Honestly I'm no expert on the original game, I've only played through the first two levels properly. But I like the concept and it's a style of game I've long thought about trying to make, so as I continue to develop it I'll also play the original EOTB more and decide what features I want to include.