Hello, i've much appreciated your Rastan, the action platformers are one of my favorite retrogames, the game scrolls well, the graphics, sound and gameplay are very good.
If you are ok, i would like to contribute to improve this game, i've always liked to thoroughly test the gameplay mechanics and to appreciate the games on the purely technical side, i give you some advices, of course you are free to do what you want :
- About you : you need to create the LOGO that rappresent you (and your work) on your games, create a visual image (this must be the first thing visible on the game) with "basementApe" writing, the image can be simply static or even dinamic (start one way and end another).
>> About Rastan >>
- Increases the RAM minimum requirement for ADF version, i suggest you at least 2,5 MB >> 512 kb (OCS A500 standard) + 2 MB extended fast RAM, this will permits you to do and manage more things inside your Rastan.
- Use a more complete ver. of Scorpion Engine (Nice idea).
- Use password save system (Nice idea).
- I see the game can manage a good number of enemies simultaneouslyon the screen (Good) ..
- To improve the game experience would be important create a second color for every type of enemy, this is where the extra RAM comes in >>
you should setup a RANDOM system, which decides which of the 2 colors to use (randomly) on each type of enemy, the type and quantity of enemies on every level is the same, what changes is the color (between the 2 used) which will always be different for every enemy in each game.
Here some examples i prepared for you (to left original color, to right the second one) ..
- you should setup another RANDOM system, which decides to insert the double health on a enemy, even in this case, this happen in absolutely randomly way.
These 2 solutions (color and health variable) are VERY important to make every game unique.
- Quality jump :
the quality of jump action is CRUCIAL for a good platformer, the jump action you used for Rastan is correct >>
this jump uses 2 heights (medium/high), the jump and strike actions are completely independent, therefore in every situation one does not disturb the other (no interruption in gameplay).
But this jump action can be improved, currently is not possible to modify the jump movement, to example is not possible jump up and then move a little forward or backward, or jump forward and change direction, correcting the total range of the jump.
Currently if is performed this last movement (jump forward and then backwards), only the lower part of character moves in correct way, this is the regular jump ..
and this is what happen when i jump forward and then backwards ..
Some bugs to fix :
- i seen several cases of disappearance of enemies (without me having killed them), to example if i jump up and displayed them in part only (when they are at the top of screen) or once i met if i go back a little, to then return to where the enemy was located, he disappears into thin air.
- at this point of level 1-1 happears a black bar in the sky ..
- sometime when we are hit by an enemy, remain some strange pixels on the screen ..
First off, thanks for the comprehensive feedback! You make a lot of good points, hadn't thought of a few of those :)
- Password system is coming for sure
- I'm sorting out some incompatibilities with the latest Scorpion version, and then there's life stuff to deal with too. Hopefully I can get an update out before too long (the moving platform collision glitch in particular irks me)
- I see your point about bumping up the RAM req (nice color tweaks btw). I *might* do an AGA only version and do sth similar for that. In fact, why not? The OCS version will stay at the current req tho. Squeezing everything into those strict limits is part of the fun for me.
- High jumps are coming! Just haven't needed to put them in for level 1 so I didn't. But I will :) Not being able to change the mid-air trajectory is an arcade-thing... but we'll see. I've been taking quite a few liberties already heh
- The black line is a copper bug thingy that might be fixed in the latest SE, haven't tested yet.
Happy you like the boss! I'm real happy with how he turned out too :D
I'm glad you are using latest Scorpion Engine version (Great tool !), about moving platform issue : i'm not a programmer but last year i discussed with 2 programmers just about this problem, they have said that it's all about the -fall point-, usually the character sprite (on a platform) can protrude towards the outside to almost half its width staying above the platform, then there is the fall point where the sprite falls down.
The fact is that setup a static platform and setup a moving platform are 2 different things (^^), often there are issues on moving platform since the fall point result altered, causing the premature fall of the sprite (even with a limited overhang), don't worry, always there is a solution to it, every engine has its way to manage this, you must work whit -sensitivity- of collision (of moving platform).
I understand about your choice on RAM requirement on OCS Amiga, if a day you'll create an AGA ver. >> AGA is Powerful and full of features, surely you'll have possibilities that now you don't have (on OCS). I'm glad you liked my colored enemies, this is one of first things that i thought when i tried your Rastan.
About jump action, yes is true, usually arcade games use stiff jumps, but let me say a thing :
you are in the position to build the game, you will have to make decisions that will affect the overall quality of the game itself, currently Rastan is Nice to play but it could be even more so just Thanks to dynamic jumps, i'm sure about it.
Instead this is a thing that i discovered recently |^_^| :
it's possible strike the enemies even from behind (when they get close enough), the range of action is more limited than the frontal side ..
This is going to be good, I'll be following with interest. I also added it to my new "Gameplay of New Amiga Games from December 2024" video along with other recently released Amiga games.
Version 0.33 revamps level 1-1 backgrounds to bring them a bit more in line with the arcade original. I've also made some tweaks to make that level flow a bit better, and finally proper checkpoint icons.
Sorry about the radio silence everyone! I hit some technical difficulties that made me put the project on hold, and then lots of life stuff happened, as it does sometimes.
I also wanted to say thank you to everyone for your support and kind words. It means a lot :D
I'm working on level 2 at the moment, and updating the project to work properly with the newest Scorpion version. I think I'll release new versions as new levels finish, with a password save system so you don't have to start from the beginning every time.
This is outstanding work. Beautiful graphics and sound. I'm really looking forward to this!
Question: In previous videos, I thought the scrolling looked perfectly smooth. However, looking at the latest video, the scrolling looks a little juddery. Is this the case? Or is that just an issue with video encoding for Youtube?
How smooth do you think the scrolling will be in the final version?
i just checked it, id like to ask the same question ... gothic vania has the guy losing his scalp when he jumps, knight has a sawtooth floating jumper and everything seems to be in development but you can pay for it so *bump* - this actually looks "slightly not meh" while i dare say aforementioned still look like "a bit rubbish" im not an Amiga cultist but definitely always looking for great neo-retro games ...
Congratulations on creating this highly playable and fun version of Rastan for Amiga!!! Keep up the good work!!!
I would like to report just a minor issue when jumping on ropes in v0.32, if you keep holding direction up while jumping on the rope, the character keeps sliding down the rope.. and even after you release holding any direction, the character keeps sliding down..
another graphic glitch happens on the rope if pushing left right fast his pants and legs face left right but not his torso :D
Hi there! Congratulations on winning Second Place in AmiGameJam! I was wondering if you could contact me at arcadecammy @ gmail.com please? It’s just about the prizes, I don’t seem to be able to message you directly here. Thank you!
Hiya, Rogue Declan Zero (this game now has a finished and published version called “Rogue Declan”) came first. Here’s a website with a list of all the previous AmiGameJam games and the winners - https://amigamejam.amigaland.com/index.html
Background graphics are very good. Game doesn't feel incomplete at all for not having parallax. I love it ( even though I have to load it up in A1200 mode , when I want it for A500 )
Very nice and promising arcade conversion. Our German-language preview can be found in our recorded livestream starting at 03:10:15. Subscription to our YouTube or Twitch channel is welcome. 🙂
o_0 Random hang-ups you say? On alpha 0.20? 0.20 was running dangerously close to the chip RAM limit so that could be it. If not then that sounds like something I should investigate.
The luminary known as The Bard (famous for the "Why HeroQuest is so Great" video) streams twice a week on Twitch and is known throughout the lands to "power up" at the start of many a stream by playing a round of Rastan. As he is also a fan of the Amiga, I rushed to tell him of your port as soon as I myself learned of it! Indeed, he was interested in such a endeavor and he played your demo for the very first time last Wednesday! The first half hour of the stream is where you can rewatch that event. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1864569290
Many of the regulars in the chat are very well familiar with Rastan thanks to the Bard's work and it was fun to see their reactions to this Amiga port also. I know that many of us in Bard's community will greatly await the day your port is finished, for it no doubt shall be a true version of Rastan!
Very cool to see! As many have said, this actually improves on the original with sprites that are wonderfully drawn and feel very true to the arcade whilst being given a modern makeover. Well done treading that line so well!
One thing - and this is just me being curious and in no way critical - in AGA versions do you think the parallax backgrounds from the arcade might be possible to achieve?
Really great work, excited to see updates as you work on them!
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Hello, i've much appreciated your Rastan, the action platformers are one of my favorite retrogames, the game scrolls well, the graphics, sound and gameplay are very good.
If you are ok, i would like to contribute to improve this game, i've always liked to thoroughly test the gameplay mechanics and to appreciate the games on the purely technical side, i give you some advices, of course you are free to do what you want :
- About you : you need to create the LOGO that rappresent you (and your work) on your games, create a visual image (this must be the first thing visible on the game) with "basementApe" writing, the image can be simply static or even dinamic (start one way and end another).
>> About Rastan >>
- Increases the RAM minimum requirement for ADF version, i suggest you at least 2,5 MB >> 512 kb (OCS A500 standard) + 2 MB extended fast RAM, this will permits you to do and manage more things inside your Rastan.
- Use a more complete ver. of Scorpion Engine (Nice idea).
- Use password save system (Nice idea).
- I see the game can manage a good number of enemies simultaneously on the screen (Good) ..
- To improve the game experience would be important create a second color for every type of enemy, this is where the extra RAM comes in >>
you should setup a RANDOM system, which decides which of the 2 colors to use (randomly) on each type of enemy, the type and quantity of enemies on every level is the same, what changes is the color (between the 2 used) which will always be different for every enemy in each game.
Here some examples i prepared for you (to left original color, to right the second one) ..
- you should setup another RANDOM system, which decides to insert the double health on a enemy, even in this case, this happen in absolutely randomly way.
These 2 solutions (color and health variable) are VERY important to make every game unique.
- Quality jump :
the quality of jump action is CRUCIAL for a good platformer, the jump action you used for Rastan is correct >>
this jump uses 2 heights (medium/high), the jump and strike actions are completely independent, therefore in every situation one does not disturb the other (no interruption in gameplay).
But this jump action can be improved, currently is not possible to modify the jump movement, to example is not possible jump up and then move a little forward or backward, or jump forward and change direction, correcting the total range of the jump.
Currently if is performed this last movement (jump forward and then backwards), only the lower part of character moves in correct way, this is the regular jump ..
and this is what happen when i jump forward and then backwards ..
Some bugs to fix :
- i seen several cases of disappearance of enemies (without me having killed them), to example if i jump up and displayed them in part only (when they are at the top of screen) or once i met if i go back a little, to then return to where the enemy was located, he disappears into thin air.
- at this point of level 1-1 happears a black bar in the sky ..
- sometime when we are hit by an enemy, remain some strange pixels on the screen ..
I LIKED the first Boss (^.^] ..
First off, thanks for the comprehensive feedback! You make a lot of good points, hadn't thought of a few of those :)
- Password system is coming for sure
- I'm sorting out some incompatibilities with the latest Scorpion version, and then there's life stuff to deal with too. Hopefully I can get an update out before too long (the moving platform collision glitch in particular irks me)
- I see your point about bumping up the RAM req (nice color tweaks btw). I *might* do an AGA only version and do sth similar for that. In fact, why not? The OCS version will stay at the current req tho. Squeezing everything into those strict limits is part of the fun for me.
- High jumps are coming! Just haven't needed to put them in for level 1 so I didn't. But I will :) Not being able to change the mid-air trajectory is an arcade-thing... but we'll see. I've been taking quite a few liberties already heh
- The black line is a copper bug thingy that might be fixed in the latest SE, haven't tested yet.
Happy you like the boss! I'm real happy with how he turned out too :D
I'm glad you are using latest Scorpion Engine version (Great tool !), about moving platform issue : i'm not a programmer but last year i discussed with 2 programmers just about this problem, they have said that it's all about the -fall point-, usually the character sprite (on a platform) can protrude towards the outside to almost half its width staying above the platform, then there is the fall point where the sprite falls down.
The fact is that setup a static platform and setup a moving platform are 2 different things (^^), often there are issues on moving platform since the fall point result altered, causing the premature fall of the sprite (even with a limited overhang), don't worry, always there is a solution to it, every engine has its way to manage this, you must work whit -sensitivity- of collision (of moving platform).
I understand about your choice on RAM requirement on OCS Amiga, if a day you'll create an AGA ver. >> AGA is Powerful and full of features, surely you'll have possibilities that now you don't have (on OCS). I'm glad you liked my colored enemies, this is one of first things that i thought when i tried your Rastan.
About jump action, yes is true, usually arcade games use stiff jumps, but let me say a thing :
you are in the position to build the game, you will have to make decisions that will affect the overall quality of the game itself, currently Rastan is Nice to play but it could be even more so just Thanks to dynamic jumps, i'm sure about it.
Instead this is a thing that i discovered recently |^_^| :
it's possible strike the enemies even from behind (when they get close enough), the range of action is more limited than the frontal side ..
This is going to be good, I'll be following with interest. I also added it to my new "Gameplay of New Amiga Games from December 2024" video along with other recently released Amiga games.
And this is how Amiga games should look like. Great pixel art. And who needs parallax scrolling when you got beautifully drawn static backgrounds?
Great game, thank you.
Do you have a .lha file to download it on HDD?
Coming soon! I got a pretty major bug I need to squash too
Share the mod too! :)
Small Christmas update!
Version 0.33 revamps level 1-1 backgrounds to bring them a bit more in line with the arcade original. I've also made some tweaks to make that level flow a bit better, and finally proper checkpoint icons.
Sorry about the radio silence everyone! I hit some technical difficulties that made me put the project on hold, and then lots of life stuff happened, as it does sometimes.
I also wanted to say thank you to everyone for your support and kind words. It means a lot :D
I'm working on level 2 at the moment, and updating the project to work properly with the newest Scorpion version. I think I'll release new versions as new levels finish, with a password save system so you don't have to start from the beginning every time.
Awesome!!!
Thanks for playing! :D Looks like there's a moving platform bug there. Oh noes :|
You're doing the best work on the Amiga at the moment! Merry Christmas :)
You're doing the best work on the Amiga at the moment! Merry Christmas :)
This is outstanding work. Beautiful graphics and sound. I'm really looking forward to this!
Question: In previous videos, I thought the scrolling looked perfectly smooth. However, looking at the latest video, the scrolling looks a little juddery. Is this the case? Or is that just an issue with video encoding for Youtube?
How smooth do you think the scrolling will be in the final version?
Any updates on this? One of the most exciting projects to grace the amiga. Youve done a really good job.
Hello, just a quick one for you - is this game still on a schedule for release? Really looking forward to this one. :D
Super graphics, super sound, super game! I hope you also give a trainer option so that even such lame people can see the end like "ME"!
I can't wait for the final version!
This is the project the most I am looking forward.
i just checked it, id like to ask the same question ... gothic vania has the guy losing his scalp when he jumps, knight has a sawtooth floating jumper and everything seems to be in development but you can pay for it so *bump* - this actually looks "slightly not meh" while i dare say aforementioned still look like "a bit rubbish" im not an Amiga cultist but definitely always looking for great neo-retro games ...
This is wonderful work. Please complete the project.
are you still working on it?
Looks insane!
when is it coming out?
Great stuff! I can't wait to play the full game!
Congratulations on creating this highly playable and fun version of Rastan for Amiga!!! Keep up the good work!!!
I would like to report just a minor issue when jumping on ropes in v0.32, if you keep holding direction up while jumping on the rope, the character keeps sliding down the rope.. and even after you release holding any direction, the character keeps sliding down..
another graphic glitch happens on the rope if pushing left right fast his pants and legs face left right but not his torso :D
Hi there! Congratulations on winning Second Place in AmiGameJam! I was wondering if you could contact me at arcadecammy @ gmail.com please? It’s just about the prizes, I don’t seem to be able to message you directly here. Thank you!
second place?! who one first? this is one of the best homebrew titles ive ever seen.
Hiya, Rogue Declan Zero (this game now has a finished and published version called “Rogue Declan”) came first. Here’s a website with a list of all the previous AmiGameJam games and the winners - https://amigamejam.amigaland.com/index.html
Background graphics are very good. Game doesn't feel incomplete at all for not having parallax. I love it ( even though I have to load it up in A1200 mode , when I want it for A500 )
Hi, would love to cover this in our magazine ZZAP! AMIGA. Possible to drop me a mail? jazzcat64@gmail.com
It looks great. Good job.
Looking good!
I love this game. One of my main arcade games back in the day. I own an original JAMMA arcade board.
So looking forward to the complete game.
Great! Demo 0.32
Very nice and promising arcade conversion. Our German-language preview can be found in our recorded livestream starting at 03:10:15. Subscription to our YouTube or Twitch channel is welcome. 🙂
Nice, with v0.31 it doesn't seem to randomly hang up anymore on my stock A500 1mb. Great job!
Thanks :)
o_0 Random hang-ups you say? On alpha 0.20? 0.20 was running dangerously close to the chip RAM limit so that could be it. If not then that sounds like something I should investigate.
I'm a little suspicious that my ram exp might be a bit faulty, so don't you worry
Nice update!
Omg how did you manage to find all those bugs haha
Looks like there may be another bugfix update for the demo after all xD
Alpha 0.30 is out now!! New download above!
Changes from alpha 0.20 include:
- Overhauled and improved level 1-A music and sfx by Tsak!
- Major visual upgrades to level 1-A.
- Minor upgrades to level 1-B.
- Fixes most known bugs:
* Fixed broken enemy projectile collisions.
* Downward plunge attacks no longer glitch out.
* Broken spine syndrome when turning around mid-attack fixed.
* Same fix applied for respawning after death.
* Fixed rope climb animation that wouldn't play sometimes.
- Gameplay enhancements:
* Flamesword projectile collisions tweaked to be more effective.
* Made collision boxes for downward plunge attacks bigger.
* Widened rope collision boxes to make them easier to grab onto.
Thanks again everybody! I'm blown away by all the positive response, wow!
Simply whow! Thanks
The Demo is amazing! Works on my NTSC A500 just fine.
Nice! I don't have an actual Amiga to test on so it's good to hear it runs as expected on the real thing :)
As much as I would've loved to see a 512k version, 1mb is still super freaking impressive, especially with this level of artistic and gameplay polish.Whoah! Such visual splendor, and it runs on a stock Amiga 500! Absolutely phenomenal job!
The luminary known as The Bard (famous for the "Why HeroQuest is so Great" video) streams twice a week on Twitch and is known throughout the lands to "power up" at the start of many a stream by playing a round of Rastan. As he is also a fan of the Amiga, I rushed to tell him of your port as soon as I myself learned of it! Indeed, he was interested in such a endeavor and he played your demo for the very first time last Wednesday! The first half hour of the stream is where you can rewatch that event.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1864569290
Many of the regulars in the chat are very well familiar with Rastan thanks to the Bard's work and it was fun to see their reactions to this Amiga port also. I know that many of us in Bard's community will greatly await the day your port is finished, for it no doubt shall be a true version of Rastan!
Very cool to see! As many have said, this actually improves on the original with sprites that are wonderfully drawn and feel very true to the arcade whilst being given a modern makeover. Well done treading that line so well!
One thing - and this is just me being curious and in no way critical - in AGA versions do you think the parallax backgrounds from the arcade might be possible to achieve?
Really great work, excited to see updates as you work on them!
this looks fab!
Thanks everybody, I'm glad you enjoy it :))
Is there a WHDLOAD version of the demo, or how can I start this on an Amiga 4000 with Amiga OS 3.2.2 without disk or Gotek? Thx
There's a bit of a problem with HD loading atm, but I'll upload a HD version as well when it's all sorted out.
Thank you so much!
Nice lesson to people who said that Amiga couldn't do arcade/console perfect conversions.
Pixel art is outstanding!