Release Arora Rift 32X, out now!

[Blackcurtain]

The original Arora Rift in 8-bit, previously released for the Caanoo, has now received a 32-bit graphics conversion for the Pandora and is now released. The price is set at $USD 3.00.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/C9g8Ouwa3Ic?feature=oembed

Get the game here!


You can also find it at the Pandora repository

 

[ZXDunny]

Wait, is this any different to the GP version? It appears to be 320x240 scaled up to 640x480, and there appears to be no texture filtering, nor does the "sky" move at all?


Will you be charging actual money for this? It doesn't look to have been modified to suit the pandora at all.


D.

 

[Blackcurtain]

Wait, is this any different to the GP version? It appears to be 320x240 scaled up to 640x480, and there appears to be no texture filtering, nor does the "sky" move at all?


Will you be charging actual money for this? It doesn't look to have been modified to suit the pandora at all.


D.

Converting all the textures to 32-bit and remaking all the explosion effects and adding many other high-res effects is modification enough, because remaking it completely for 800x480 with higher resolution backgrounds in 32-bit color would cause so much lag on the Pandora and the game has already received much optimization for the Pandora with this new 32-bit conversion to be able to run fluidly. Yes, I will be charging money for this, but you don't have to buy it if you don't like it.

 

[ZXDunny]

Wait, is this any different to the GP version? It appears to be 320x240 scaled up to 640x480, and there appears to be no texture filtering, nor does the "sky" move at all?


Will you be charging actual money for this? It doesn't look to have been modified to suit the pandora at all.


D.

Converting all the textures to 32-bit and remaking all the explosion effects and adding many other high-res effects is modification enough, because remaking it completely for 800x480 with higher resolution backgrounds in 32-bit color would cause so much lag on the Pandora and the game has already received much optimization for the Pandora with this new 32-bit conversion to be able to run fluidly. Yes, I will be charging money for this, but you don't have to buy it if you don't like it.

Not that I don't like it; it just appears to not take any advantage of the Pandora. You might have upgraded the textures and such, but it still looks quite blocky being scaled up


Given that we have a pretty capable OpenGL-ES interface available for the Pandora, I'd be interested to see why you've been having trouble getting the game to run well. What language is this built in?


D.

 

[Blue Protoman]

Ten bucks says this sells better than the real 32X did.

 

[Blackcurtain]

Just wanted to let you know that Arora Rift 32X will be released tomorrow Friday, at http://www.blackcurtainstudio.com.


It will be added to the repo later on also. And don't forget to check out the Black Curtain Facebook page.


On another note, the original Arora Rift for Caanoo will receive a price drop.

 

[DaMummy]

how do you plan on releasing this as a paid app?

 

[mcobit]

You could release a demo, that can be upgraded by purchasing datafiles maybe.

 

[Blackcurtain]

how do you plan on releasing this as a paid app?

The same way I did with the original Arora Rift. You must register on Black Curtain Studio where you will be able to log in and purchase it. Then a download button will appear on your purchased games page, after the purchase has been reviewed (which will be most of the times within an hour or so).

 

[BAFelton]

For the Caanoo version, you have to order it on Blackcurtain site, pay with paypal and he sends you a mail with the game archive. It will work the same way on Pandora I think.


Eh, I'll have a price drop ^_^


EDIT : Blackcurtain was too fast for me ^^

 

[Blackcurtain]

Arora Rift 32X is now available at www.blackcurtainstudio.com.


More channels will be available at a later time.

 

[gruso]

Signed up and purchased. The system works as described - once paid for, the download link appears on your profile page. (It wasn't instant - I had to wait a few minutes for the Paypal sale to go through.)


The download is a bit big for this connection (66MB) so I'll give it a run tonight.

 

[Phelsumania]

for some reason i appear to get some issue when trying to purchace, the pay link just takes me to my paypal home page rather than directing me to a confirmation page. any ideas?


-----


oky doky for some reason i cant get to the link on my pc however i have just purchaced it via my phones web browser? random.


no idea why but meh i got a copy now, thanks for the hard work blackcurtain i hope to see you continue your releases for the pandora your games look great.

 

[scoobydoo]

Well I just bought this and got a receipt. Now what happens?


I looked under 'my games' at the web site and it reads that the purchase must be reviewed?


I did pay already .


Perhaps later on then.

 

[gruso]

Ok, since it is a commercial release I’m going to be extra nitpicky. Please take it as constructive.


For those wondering about the game: It is what it looks like. A 3D rail shooter with a chunky sprite look, and a good techy soundtrack. Lots of bullets and explosions, waves of enemies, combos, big bosses. It has a very ‘raw’ feel, but that’s cool. There is clearly a good amount of work behind it. I’m only in stage two, so this does not constitute a full review of course.


So, does it cost money because it’s better than a free game? Not necessarily. There are tons of free releases in this scene that could easily ask a similar price. It’s down to what the dev decides to do, and in this case he has decided to make it commercial. To me, it’s worth it on two levels: (i) $3 is not much money (ii) By supporting early commercial releases, you’re effectively casting a vote. This could lead to bigger things down the track.


Game feedback for Blackcurtain:

• Can’t access high scores from menu?
  
• ’Credits’ section of menu does nothing
  
• Enemy highlighting seems excessive; maybe a single (or double) pixel ring would work? They really dominate the horizon as they are now
  
• Would be nice to have an invert Y axis option
  
• The stage 1 boss behaved strangely, being in the middle distance for a moment then instantly appearing in front of me. Not sure if intentional?
  

And a few comments on the port itself: People paying for Pandora software will be (quite rightly) picky about how well it is adapted to the platform. The biggest disappointment here is that it runs in pillarboxed 4:3. We have many ports like this, which is fine when they're free, but commercial titles should go the extra mile. It would not hard to adapt the splash & menu screens. I realise that it’s not always easy to convert the game assets to widescreen, but there are some approaches you can take like putting extra touch controls or other stuff in the unused space. People will realise that it's just a 4:3 game with a fancy bezel, but they will see that you’ve given some extra thought to the hardware. Something to consider for future projects perhaps

 

[bismuthdrummer]

I agree with Gruso on the Pandora-specific tweaks. I would also add that 16 bit with smarter scaling (I'm no expert but maybe something like nearest neighbor) would go a lot farther in terms of graphical quality than 32 bit with just normal 2X scaling. Not trying to gripe, just giving some feedback that I believe could really improve the attractiveness of the game, though it certainly is attractive for the Pandora.


Nice work, I look forward to any improvements you add to it.

 

[mcobit]

Just set the bpp in sdlinitialisation to 0. Takes the actual bitdepth, that is running onPandora and can help with speed a lot,too.

 

[Phelsumania]

has anyone had any issues yet or is ij just me i ordered last night and downloadd this morning, i can get to the loading menu but my unit freezes at the first screen resulting in the pandora needing to be reset. any ideas? or has my download corupted for some reason (i will download again and report back)

 

[scoobydoo]

I am going to play this later and report.

 

[scoobydoo]

has anyone had any issues yet or is ij just me i ordered last night and downloadd this morning, i can get to the loading menu but my unit freezes at the first screen resulting in the pandora needing to be reset. any ideas? or has my download corupted for some reason (i will download again and report back)

No, no problems here at all.


I really enjoy this game and only on the first level. It so reminds me of ps1/sega 32x quality games. The explosions are really nice to look at :rolleyes: .


Recommended highly if you like shooters.


The developer told me there will be minor tweaking for this game to balance the difficulty and some other things.Those updates ,of course, will be free of charge.


The developer responds promptly to emails and is very cordial.


Hope you sort things out Phelsumania.


Cheers!!