Release Gravedigger


erico

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The game has been released.
You can get it for the Pandora here at the repo:

If you would like to support it, you can buy a pc windows version here:

What? no windows? Just gift friends and family then. :D

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Hello chaps,
some of you may know the Usborne´s computer game books of the 80s. I´m particularly found of this one here:

001 book.png


Inside, you can find Alan Hamsey´s Gravedigger, a piece of software very important on my game coding early days.
Here is the bit in its full glory:

002 digger.png


I decided to remake it in order to warm up for a future project.
This remake/tribute will run on PC and I hope to have a PANDORA version.

I think I have everything I need for that, thanks to Ian Price, but since I can´t test the outputs, I will be needing that from the rest of you. ;)

edit: If you would like to take a close look at the book, here it is:
[doublepost=1570055136,1570054062][/doublepost]Here is the original game running on the TRS-80 Color and ZX spectrum.

GIF.gif
003-Grave-Digger.png


Does not look like much today but at that time, it showed me how I could draw top down figures on a computer made board of some sorts. :D
So here is my tribute, changed some things but tried to stick to the original spirit.


The video is a WIP of a few days ago, current version is all fine and polished, needs be packed for release and pandora version generated.
[doublepost=1570060907][/doublepost]Here is a link to the current PC WIN version of the game:

Use arrows+ZX or joypad+AB, ESC and menu button on joypad to return to title and again to quit.
On menu, first button starts. During game, hold first button to stay in digging mode, add a direction to dig, second button to skip turn.

I will be back in a while with the first PANDORA attempt...
 
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Hi all :)

@erico : thanks a lot for this new game, can't wait to play it on the Pandora ! Looks like it'll set the mood nicely for the upcoming Halloween season.

Cheers, Magic Sam
 
Here is where I need help.
Before I pack it as a proper PND, I have to figure out if the GLB version I´m compiling it is the one working fine for such.
I believe this set up is the one, so here is an executable and the media folder. Can someone please test?

edit: beta deleted as the game is already released on the repo, check first post.
 
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Seems to be running, have sound and stumbled on some key that got me into the game. Was a tad confused at first that the executable was a .pnd, but was just an executable and not a package. but seems good, seems plenty fast. Can do more testing later in the day.
 
It will be awesome if this is actually the working setup!
Please test more, if all is fine, I can go on making a pnd out of it.

Game should run full screen and you control it with arrows+ZX or joypad/stick, button 1 and 2.
If you start the game with one, the other will only work again on the menu.
Esc to quit or joypad menu button.
 
@TrashyMG should be no problem adapting to that.
I take the arrow keys corresponds to the pad too, right?

About that order, PGUP, PGDN, Home and End, does that mean the left one first and then going counter clockwise on the pandora buttons?
 
yeah home is the left one, end is right. PGUP and PGDN is obviously up and dn
 
About the controls again, that version is supposed to read the digital pad and the analog stick, as well as the arrow keys on a PC.
I wonder how to settle that for the Pandora. Does the analog and pad currently move the player?
 
I´m extending this game with a richer GAME B mode, here is the level generator going about.

025-newgen.gif


If follows a thought like this:
- First, clear the whole map with clear ground tile 0.
- Snake around counter clockwise a wall path using 3 cells, tending to stay on the outside cell.
- Do an array clean up for loose holes and protuberances.
- Create a set of linear, maybe holed, walls from each of the sides, caring not to create more than 2 enclosed corner areas.
- Set gate position.
- Fix the inverted Y shape on the array, causes problems every now and then.
- Generate horizontal metal fences.
- Extrude walls and fences.
- Generate holes
- Do a flood fill starting from the semetary gate to generate a playable area array.
- If the flood reaches the borders, the map is a fail, do it again.
- Position tombs on the playable area.
- Position player and keys on the playable area.

Very tricky to get it working neat but I find creating generators something super cool! :)
 
About the controls again, that version is supposed to read the digital pad and the analog stick, as well as the arrow keys on a PC.
I wonder how to settle that for the Pandora. Does the analog and pad currently move the player?

The Analogs can be set to joystick mode, but the d-pad acts by default as arrow keys. For some reason an oversight was not having a proper joystick mode where they act as buttons.
 
Ok, thanks, I need to add those buttons (pgdown etc) related to the pandora, the pad should already work I guess, but one would have to use Z and X on the keyboard for the action buttons (edit: ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶a̶l̶o̶g̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶r̶ , no, won´t work as it can´t read the joy buttons. The pad should work fine).
Should be fixed next version.

Did the game run properly? With sound and everything? I don´t have a pandora, I´m trying shoots in the dark.
 
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Hi all :)

@erico : I get the following error on my Rebirth unit, SGX driver 4.10, latest SZ release:
pandora:/media/Pandora2/GRAVEDIGGER$ ./pandora-exe.pnd
debug works at all
preplic
lic done
timer
rbow
rbow init
SDL_init video PANDORA
WSEGL_InitialiseDisplay: DRI2OpenConnection failed
Unable to initialise EGL display.SDL_GetVideoInfo = 800x480 @ 16 bpp
800x480 sdl
get accurate timer - 1st call
flip - 1st call
BGRA ext NOT supported
(null)
Texture size limit: 1079211472
init fbo
2D VP
OGRB init [OK]
Cptn
Network
Input
Window mode
Create DXin
reptr
getexe
cd
set cdir to: /media/Pandora2/GRAVEDIGGER
exepath=curdir= /media/Pandora2/GRAVEDIGGER
Init Finalized
glGenFramebuffersExt failed

EDIT: I could hear the music though

What am I doing wrong ?

Cheers, Magic Sam
 
@TrashyMG : I'm running SGX driver 4.10, as indicated above. Should I try a different version ?

EDIT: the game works fine with default SGX driver 4.00 :)
 
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Nice! Thanks for all the testings!

Great that it works, and with music, with that SGX 4.0 driver, I might have to add that to the instructions.
But, as all seems fine, I guess I can go about making that PND and also fix controls.

Meanwhile, I have been extending the game, zombies can fall into pits and you can swing you shovel as a form of attack to repeal zombies back.
Since it is usually crowded with zombies, the push back should cause a neat domino effect.
I´m working on that part now as my last attempts failed. I have to rewrite the whole bit. :)

But here is a GIF with the swing in action and a few zombies lemminging around. ;)

026-hit.gif
 
The 4.10 SGX works for me, but I'm using a 1GHz unit, not a Rebirth unit that Magic Sam tested with.
 
@Magic Sam , taking a closer look at your error log, it does say the display could not be initialized, there is also "window mode" down the list and, I´m not a low level guy of any sort, but that may relate to the fact that I´m creating a windowed game in code? This may make no sense, but maybe if I change my code to create a full screen game by nature, then it may work on the 4.1 drive? It is a long shot, but easy to try.
[doublepost=1570456602,1570456403][/doublepost]
The 4.10 SGX works for me, but I'm using a 1GHz unit, not a Rebirth unit that Magic Sam tested with.

Funky! I thought rebirth/1ghz would make no difference to driver usage but more on cpu speed. I guess there is more to it then. :)
Hopefully the game can easily be run on all Pandoras, I´m also tempted to do a Caanoo version.
 
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