Interesting Ports!!

[timthepig]

Here is a fun idea...

Here is a list of potential game which could be programmed for gp32 assuming there is no emulation involved(as this takes up more memory etc) --

So would be fare to assume that under a 133mhz PC and 8meg of ram the following games could run(also there are less overheads without the os I guess?)

-or possible clones even? - I maybe wrong in some case...

Actua Soccer
Age of Empires (who could be bothered without a mouse?)
Alone in the Dark Series
Carmageddon
Civilisation 1/2
Driver 2 (A GBA version is also available)
Fade to Black
Fallout 1/2 (obviously hard drive space would be limited)
Grand Theft Auto 3 (A GBA version on its way - surely some cutdown version could be done??)
Hidden and Dangerous (A PSX version is available - software mode - or is this going too far)
Marvel vs Capcom (Emulation couldn't be done due to size of rom)
Rainbow Six (This ran good even in software mode - but video memory depending)
Resident Evil 1
Tomb Raider
The Sims(A cut down version for the GBA coming soon)

Also is it possible to have games over several SMCs - eg "Insert SMC 2 Panzer Dragoon Saga" - see what I'm getting at?

 

[Voodoox11]

i doubt anyone will ever try to do this

 

[rcx21000]

I'd reprogram AoE, or a similar game if I could find out how this DevKitAdv thingy works.

 

[stickofjoy]

i doubt anyone will ever try to do this

agreed. we would all love to see out favourite games on GP32 but ports are few and far between. emulators get us multiple games for one port which is why they are popular.

 

[Voodoox11]

but what about Rise of the Triad ? it is already ported to the dreamcast & the xbox (sdl)

 

[Flack]

This thread should probably be moved to the wishlist area, but anyway ...

I think some of those ideas (Sims?) are really about running before we learn to walk. Since people are still drooling about the idea of playing Atari Games (some of them 2k roms), the thought of games taking up multiple SMC's is probably a bit further down the road.

Flack

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Ports? No, you need the source to port a game.

A clone could be possible, if anyone wanted to put the time and effort (a LOT of both) into the project.

I would like to see a Beachhead 2000 clone. That would rock on the GP32.

Has anybody produced code for a continuously scrolling 360 degree view? That is mandatory for a Beachhead 2000 clone.

 

[skeezix]

Here is a fun idea...

Here is a list of potential game which could be programmed for gp32 assuming there is no emulation involved(as this takes up more memory etc)

A fun idea, but not fun projects (Well, fun to work on, but not *fast* anyway)

From a full time programmer..

Emulators are popular because they are usually open source and free software, meaning that anyone can poirt them, given a little skill. ITs usualyl not a huge amount of work. Writing them the first time is a large amount of work, mostly tedious.. but porting is a snap by comparison.

Writing a *new* game is a *huge* amount of work, clone or otherwise; being a clone gives you a functioning and successfull design, meanign you can get right to coding more or less. But it doesn't give you the game code, sound, artwork, etc, unless you start cribbing (ie: Asking for a lawsuit).

So porting Frodo as an emulator is no more difficult that porting Doom, for example; its just porting Doom gives you 1 game with a few level files, while porting Frodo gets you a thousand games (mostly of dubious quality Both Frodo and Doom are source available, and the porters didn't write them.. they just ported them.

But Civilization, for example, is an original and still popular work; the license is very well managed, and the source very closely guarded. So you cannot port it.. there is nothing to port.

So you woudl be cloning it.

Note that the original Civilization took *years* of development by a dedicated team; also note that that team didn't know where they were goign to end up (they weren't cloning anything), and had to invent game design, etc.. so they had more against the. Not to mention crappiper machines to develop on, etc etc. But how much order of magnitude is it? If you have 5-10 peopel workgin on a core of a game for 3 years, how much do you think you can cut down on that to get to something workable with 1 person?

ie: Consider FreeCiv; that has a couple of core people, and a large number ofc peopel tossing in tidbits here or there; it took a couple years to get useful.

If you had focus, you coudl build a simple Civ from scratch in a couple of months, but it woudl be no Civ.

So I hope peopel kick off some killer projects; but it won't be easy, and will take a lot of time. Since the pool of GP32 hackers isnt' huge, it'll not be common. You can bet 90% of the pool og GP32 hackers are just peopel who have some free time right then and get to hacking; they likely do not have the time, or sustainable interest, to keep at a GP32 project for a large poertion of time...

An open source free software GP32 project could be cool; ideally, it woudl be targetted to both GBA and GP32 to attract a larger pool of resources to help out...

Its certainly possible. We can hope

And I can't kick off or contribute much; I alreayd work 12 hour days 7 days a week as a programmer

jeff

 

[Arutha]

Skeezix, you're already contributing, I'm sure most people would rather have you keep working on your emu projects!

All of the points Skeezix made are great and very true. On hope I have is that it might be possible for independent software developers to make games for the GP32 and do so profitably once JoyGP (argh, the name!) is open. If the game was good enough and didn't cost much due to low distribution costs, I think many of us would purchase it.

I can't remember who, someone posted this link recently: http://www.gtoal.com/sbt/ It's a basic guide on Static Binary Translation. My programming skills are not to that level yet, but I'm working on 'em . When they are, I plan on trying this technique with some NeoGeo games (regular, not pocket) like Metal Slug (it just seems like the perfect game for the GP32 ). Of course, someone who is _good_ at this kind of thing may be able to get an emulator going straight out, but by the time I get that good the GP32 may well be dead and gone! Anyway, that technique may work for some of the rom type games, if anyone wants to give it a try.

 

[Rico]

Yes. Metal Slug. I can't wait to play Metal Slug!

 

[Carface]

Why is it so hard to get the source code to games that the game makers wont release?
Is there any way at all of getting the source code to Sensible World Of Soccer?

 

[timthepig]

It was meant to be a 'fun' post - and yes I do realise everything mentioned here -- thought I could just point out 'possibilities' -- Just thought I'd get people excited of the prospect of what sort capabilities it could be pushed to.

--Its hard to get hold of source code - cause its copyrighted - and I'm sure many companies wouldn't want us porting their money making series or something?>

 

[pip]

Cpt_Kirks, why make a clone when you can play the original on the spectrum emulator?

 

[skeezix]

It was meant to be a 'fun' post - and yes I do realise everything mentioned here -- thought I could just point out 'possibilities' -- Just thought I'd get people excited of the prospect of what sort capabilities it could be pushed to.

--Its hard to get hold of source code - cause its copyrighted - and I'm sure many companies wouldn't want us porting their money making series or something?>

Yeah your'e spot on though. We woudl all *love* to play Tomb Raider, Civilization, Eye of the Beholder, etc, on the GP; its a great machine.

I think a lot is still to come; if someone ports DOSBox to gP32, you get Eye of the Beholder right there IT woudlnt' be fast, but it'd work I bet

I think theres many more goods times ot come.

And hell, if the GP32 goes udner or whatever.. so what? It doens't become less valuable (just as a painting is no more beautiful if you discover it to be a famous painter.)

I think the GP32 community will survive for quite awhile.. its a fun one

jeff

 

[khephren]

There's a version of Civilisation called freeCiv available under GPL. I think its available for acorn Arm machines. So the source should be available for the processor the GP uses. I guess a lot of acorn games could be ported fairly easily?

 

[pirloui]

once someone manages to make a linux run un the GP, we might get access to several portable games from that world... we don't have openGL, but already the 2D games would be fine, and softwarerendering should should be able to handle a little portion of 3D..