Archon: Evolution
Community Forums/Showcase/Archon: Evolution
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 Updated 7th January 2008: Archon remake re-released. If you remember the original and fancy taking a look at my remake, you can find it at archon.curvenet.co.uk For those who need help to understand how to play the game, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archon_(computer_game) and http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/44 |
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| Hey that looks great, hope it plays like the orig, I'll try it later. |
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| Y'know, I never played the original, but this is a lot of fun. Exactly the sort of melding of strategy and combat that I like. The main thing I don't like is the "Evolution" in the logo. That EXTREME! lettering is so lame! |
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| A link for anyone who can't be bothered going through the forum to get this: http://www.archonevolution.com/downloads/archon_v06530.zip Downloading... |
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| Hmmm, whats the ocntrols for this? It's arrow keys on the menu, then WASD in the game. But, whats the selection button and stuff? |
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| Sorry - The readme.txt file is missing from the distribution. P1: W, A, S, D and LSHIFT P2: CURSOR KEYS and RSHIFT You can also control the menu with these keys. There's a new topic in the forums (here) that shows you how to reconfigure them (and other aspects of the game). You can also use joysticks for one or both players. |
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| Leigh, is this written in b3d? |
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| Hi Grisu. It's written in C++ and BlitzPlus, but I'm almost done porting it to Max (more work than I was expecting). The new version is much prettier and more polished: Trails on weapons (fire etc), particle effects (magic etc) and we're working to replace the not-so-great icons (the Sorceress for example). |
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| Nice. Porting it to bmx is hell of a work, but the effects possible with it and global speed gain is worth it. Some suggestions: + Highlight the possible paths a figure can move(transparency colored fields / blue or yellow) + Add mouse support for moving figures on the table. + Add transparency to the info windows showing up from the sides + As transition effect (table <-> battlefield, the greyish background looks cheap. How a bout some kind of zoom-in onto the true battlefield. a) simply create an image of the battlefield b) save it to temp image c) scale it down so it fits into the table space d) scale it up from here until its fullscreen + Quicksave for the current match Stuff I dislike: % the border art / for the table and battlefield is nice but takes away too much screen for "nothing". I'd rather like seeing more detailed figures and have a bigger battlefield than plain borders. % the logo: if possible get something more fancy. % the damage model needs balancing. I remember the game from the C64 and it feels like in this version your people die much faster (even shorter matches). & why did you include all media inside the exe? For beta releases it woule be nice to have a separate exe, so one does not have to download all media over and over (bandwith). & it should be possible to chancel a waziard spell (on game table) Don't get me wrong, I have followed this project for years and I know it has been tons of work! :) |
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| In two player mode, i can't attack the other player. Is there a special attack button? |
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| Ross C: You have to press a direction and fire at the same time (as with the original). Is this what you're referring to? Grisu: Thanks for your suggestions. Some have already been implemented in the latest build (thanks to the added power of Max). >the logo: if possible get something more fancy. The logo has always received a somewhat mixed reaction. >the damage model needs balancing. I remember the game from the C64 and it feels like in this version your people die much faster (even shorter matches). It is exactly the same as the C64 original. I'm actually using the same data (Jon Freeman kindly provided me with the C source code). The health levels and the damage inflicted is exactly the same. >why did you include all media inside the exe? For beta releases it woule be nice to have a separate exe, so one does not have to download all media over and over (bandwith). The tool I use can produce (intelligent) patches. The update files only contain the bytes they need to. The patch works on files rather than byte-by-byte, and it works really well. >it should be possible to chancel a waziard spell (on game table) You should be able to simply select a power point, as with the original. Thanks for the feedback! |
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| "It is exactly the same as the C64 original. I'm actually using the same data (Jon Freeman kindly provided me with the C source code). The health levels and the damage inflicted is exactly the same. That's cool! |
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| Yeah, Jon Freeman has been *really* helpful. It was important to me to not have to second guess the icon attributes. It was important to have the exact same balance. IMHO Archon was a perfect game, and you can't improve on that. All we aim to do it tweak the visuals and sounds, and add the network-play option. |
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| It's true, it was "perfect". I loved it. The sounds as well were cool. |
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| Thanks Grey. I appreciate your comments. I'm not particularly fond of the Banshee attack (graphics or sounds), but I hope pretty much everything else works well. Hopefully it plays exactly the same as the 8-bit originals. I do plan on offering an "Enhanced" mode of play: Extra mode of attack (as with Archon Ultra) and tweak subtle things like the bounce off the obstacles etc. |
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| Hi, Archon still is a fantastic game. What i personally dislike when i look at your screenshot is the way i look at the board. It's too small and these columns coming out to me are just irritating... Any way to get a version for the mac? Greetings, taumel |
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| The next release will (should?) work on the Mac as I'm porting the code to BlitzMax. I'm really pleased with the extra "polish" Max has enabled me to add. Sorry you don't like the board screen (fyi the above screenshot is slightly outdated). Incidentally, you can turn the board background off (so it looks similar to the original). The board size is similar to the original and, at this point in time, I trying to retain pretty much everything about the 8-bit original(s). The "Enhanced" mode of play may very well have a full screen board. It's something I've played around with (and I've also tried an isometric board that looked pretty good imho). |
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| I loved the 8bit version. Just wondering can I see the combat screenies? There is combat in this right? |
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| I loved the 8bit version. Just wondering can I see the combat screenies? There is combat in this right? Sure, there is! *slaps him with a plushy green stick... |
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Here you go Matt: |
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| Leigh, what has happened to your forum, it's been down for a while and I really, really need to talk to you! |
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| Can ANYBODY in here tell me how to get in contact with ANY of the developers of Archon:Evolution???? |
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| Wow, this is awesome. Exactly the types of games I would love see ported to arcade controls :) |
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| I was looking forward to this!!! The site seems to be down? |
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| Site is down. Please tell me where I can get this great game :) |
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| Well, I really need to talk to them as we're developing another Archon game here (http://archon2160.pbwiki.com) (very different from theirs but anyway) and need to talk to them about legal issues. Anyone got the mailadress to any of the devs? Please send it to me at ajirenius@... |
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| I wonder what has happened to this game? Any chance of a playable demo download? All the places ive been pointed to are down? If mr.Ball is too busy to respond, perhaps someone else has still got the demo lurking around on their pc? Would really love to see this game complete, but as far as I can see it just dissapeared.I take it that its dead then? Its been a while now Bobby...any chance of a progress update? :) |
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| Due to an error on GoDaddy's part, I lost my domain name. I plan on getting a new site up and running soon, but I've just been too busy with "real life" (contracting, holidays and three young children). I haven't worked on A:E for about a month now, but the latest build features mostly functioning NetPlay (although it still needs tweaking etc). I play against a few of the beta testers weekly, and it's working really well. I hope to make this build available for download when I've got an afternoon free... |
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| Thanks Bobby, I can't wait to see it in action. |
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| Great News! |
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| Appreciate the reply Bobby. And I know where you are coming from with the 'real life' thing. Ive had a game in development for 4 years because of that! lol I just hope you finish it for your sake. It looks really promising. Cant wait for the new demo. |
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| The latest build is 100% BlitzPlus. I never found the time to completely convert it all to BlitzMax. I've been struggling with the NetPlay stuff for several months now. I've pretty much re-written NetPlay three times now (I originally used BlitzPlay Pro). I'm tiring of it tbh. A new build is hopefully only a month or so away... Hopefully... [Edit] Sorry - I'm half asleep. I meant to post this over at the RetroRemakes forum. [/edit] |
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| i can't play this game :( after extracting the files, double click on Archon but only a black screen and i must kill the application. Windows XP, centrino duo 1,83Gh 1Gb Ram, GeForce Go 7400 |
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| Aah! I was wondering how this was progressing. The game seemed pretty much complete, but with netplay not implemented. Sounds like it was tough to do in the end. Will keep my eyes peeled for this one. |
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| @johnnyfreak: Is the "Movies" ini setting set to "0"? Also, try changing the "Depth" setting to 32. @mrbombermilzy: I really underestimated the amount of work involved in NetPlay. I've not been enjoying it lately :( |
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| @Milky Joe, I empathise, tried messing around with TCP/IP in B3D in conjunction with a 3d world and articulated trucks but my head started to hurt...., synchronising the trucks on different specc'd computers got beyond this indy. Still got further than I thought I ever would! Your game looks good, is the current version still WIP? |
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| movies=0 and it works! good game! in multiplayer could be great |
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| @Blitzplotter: If I knew in advance now how much work it was going to involve, I probably would never have started down the NetPlay route at all. I simply don't have enough free time to dedicate to it unfortunately. I really want to be able to play Archon against people around the world though, and that thought keeps me motivated. The current version is still very much a WIP. Thanks for the update johnnyfreak. I think I'll remove the intro movie from the next distribution. It adds nothing of value, and a few people have had the same problem. I think I'm going to turn off the board screen border image for the next release too. I'll have it defaulting to more of the classic look. Thanks for the feedback. For those who need help to understand how to play the game, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archon_(computer_game) and http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/44 |
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| Isnt there some sort of netplay code knocking around the archives that you could modify, or is that not possible? |
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| i've tranlated the English.ael to the Italian.ael and modified Archon.ini but the in game language is English yet. Why? |
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| I was using BlitzPlay Pro originally, but I ended up taking that out because I was porting to BlitzMax. I then sold my licence on, so I can't now use it :( @Johnnyfreak: Can you email the Italian.ael file to me please? I'll include it in the new build and credit you, assuming you're happy for me to use it? I'll get a fixed build to you a.s.a.p. Thanks archon [at] curvenet.co.uk |
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| Ever thought of making a 3d version? |
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| If I had the ability to create worthy models, I'd definitely have gone down the 3D route. The artist who worked on the current 2D version created high poly models of all of the icons, but he wouldn't release them to me. I don't blame him though... |
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| mail sent |
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| heh. Shame that. I had some great ideas along with another guy on here (don't know if he's still here) Charles Audler. We never got far enough, mainly because of the 3d resources. I have a little 3d board sequence kicking about somewhere i might upload :o) |
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| @johnnyfreak: I've just sent you a new build, together with the new language files. If anyone is able to help with the translation of a small collection of English strings into other languages, I'd like to hear from you. Full credit will be given. The next build will default to classic board mode (due to the mixed feedback the current board has received):  I also want to replace the "Evolution" text in the main logo with something a little less, well, tacky. Can anyone help? |
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What about: |
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| That's definitely much better imho. The "primal" font that is used in the current logo simply looks out of place. For anyone that wants to have at bash a re-working the logo, here's the largest image I have:  Full credit will be given for anything I use. |
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| Ah thanks. Was trying to pack details in then down size it, which is harder. I'll have another go in the morning probably. |
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| I now have the following translations: German Italian Spanish Thanks to those that have helped so far. |
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