Porting Possibility

[Korup7]

Not sure about you guys and how involved you are in RPGs, but this game was a classic and is/was the template for all fantasy RPGs today. There were two versions of this game, a PSX version and a PC version, not sure how PSX version worked with the PC using both mouse/keyboard, but I looked at the specs for the PC version, and they are pretty low, 60 mhz and 8 MB of RAM. I know that might not mean much, but they seem low and if it's a possiblity to port this great classic, it'd be great...

Anywho, now that my rentz have confirmed that i'm gettin one of these emulating beasts, i'll be sure to be active in the forums, as I'd like to dev my own games for the GP2x once i get it and learn how.

 

[theoddbot]

Put it in here http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Suggestion_Box

 

[second exodous]

The problem with Diablo is it was a windows game and I'm not sure what WINE, the windows compatibility layer, is like on an arm chip. Plus it used OpenGL, so you would running WINE and mesa, the software implementation of OpenGL. The PSX version might be easier to run if someone can code a PSX emulator.

I'm not sure though, no one quote me on this, but I'm not sure how well the windows version will ever run on the GP2X. The PSX version might be better anyway due to the lack of mouse and keyboard, I never played it either though as I had a PC at the time.

Thanx,
Stan

 

[Jarska333]

Oy, port, not emu. Is the source available, BTW? Kinda depends on that...

 

[Alpha2]

Unless there's a Linux version of the game I havent heard of it sounds pretty unlikely to happen. maybe you should be hopping more for a homebrew remake.

 

[Yuglooc]

Am I the only one who got disturbed at "is/was the template for all fantasy RPGs today"....

 

[Eolair]

Am I the only one who got diturbed at "is/was the template for all fantasy RPGs today"....

​

Yeah me. I don't even consider diablo a true RPG. It's hack & slash or maybe arcade RPG.

 

[Digital Awakening]

IIRC it started the RPG genre called hack n slash, not really a good RPG but does have everything I would use to define RPG but it's no where near beeing a good RPG. It's quite easy to get started and to get stuck playing for quite a while though. I don't recal if it however started the mouse interacted RPG style that we see in RPGs like Baldurs Gate, Fallout etc.

 

[Eolair]

Well this is a long and well debated subject... Is Diablo and it's ilk true RPG or not?I'd say definately not but some would say yes it is.

For me Diablo is a linear hack & slash adventure in RPG trappings. Compare the character interaction, character depth, story control, quests, etc with a real RPG and it falls terribly short. Fallout is a true RPG though and so is Elder Scrolls which is another Bethesda game.

 

[Korup7]

heh, that's not what here to discuss

Though I do agree that some other RPGs have more character depth, etc, I call anything that has storyline to it an RPG, because there's not much else to call it..

Anyway, I never thought about the linux thing and I guess i should have.. I have a Winbox and you never really consider all the incompatibility when 99% of software is made for Win .

Ahh well, doesn't concern me much, just tryin to get a feel for what kinda games aside from the many that will already be ported/emulated & being ported/emulated will and could also be made available.

Thanks for the replies all.

 

[Tobriand]

Its not only Linux/Windows, its also X86 to ARM, and even were it already in a Linux ARM executable, you'd still have problems with e.g. screen size or controls (although they'd be much smaller in all liklihood), and would probably need some fiddling at least a little to get it working right.

In order to port something you really need the original source code - what you plug into a compiler to get the game that you double click in windows. Without that, its kinda hard to do anything (although theoretically it is possible - just insanely tough).

 

[jibegod]

The unavailability of the source code for the PC version of Diablo notwithstanding, what's the likelihood of a decent PS1 emulator being developed for the gp2x?

 

[Alpha2]

The likely hood of a PS emulator is high. Whether or not it'll be decent is still up for debate.

 

[Hooka]

This maybe irrelevant but I see Diablo as a rogue clone... better gfx, actual storyline but nevertheless still just classic rogue beefed up a bit

 

[Digital Awakening]

Though I do agree that some other RPGs have more character depth, etc, I call anything that has storyline to it an RPG, because there's not much else to call it..

That doesn't leave out much you know :rolleyes: Almost all games have a story line exept for puzzle games like Tetris. I think that genre definitions are about gameplay only. I define RPGs as games where character values are used to determine the outcome and not your own skills like aiming good with a mouse etc. Diablo clearly fits this description but can also be called a hack & slash RPG.

As long as it's 2D then I don't see why PSX can't be emulated but how much work is involved or how well it will run I have no idea about.

 

[Alpha2]

Any PS game can be emulated since all sprites are rendered on polygons. It's just a question of how much processor power it will take to show them. Likely less than a bunch of fighter jets or race cars. but there's still graphic effects and lighting to deal with.

 

[Digital Awakening]

I'm not very experienced in this kind of programming but wouldn't it be possible to make an emulator that used non 3D sprites and just skipped all the 3D effects. It wouldn't be the same for sure but at least we could get 2D games running. It would have been fun to play games like Crash Bandicot and Tekken if anyone could get that running fast enough...

 

[slygamer]

Plus it used OpenGL, so you would running WINE and mesa, the software implementation of OpenGL.

​

Diablo II had optional Direct3D and 3Dfx support. The important word there is optional. It used DirectDraw by default.

A remake (to use the correct term since port requires the original source code and artwork, and emu means to run the original binary and data files on a different machine) would be possible, but that involves remaking everything, including the code, the pre-rendered sprites, the pre-rendered tilesets, everything.

It would be easier to remake the PSX port of Diablo (Diablo II never appeared on the consoles).

Here is a list of the controls for the PSX version of Diablo.

- DPad (any) Highlight options, move character in desired direction
- Start Button Pause
Buttons
- X Select options, perform action, attakc, break spell, talk
- Triangle Cancel selection and return to menu, cast spell
- Square Perform action
- O Use belt item
- L1 Restore health
- R1 Restore Mana
- L2 Select speed spell
- R2 Use special move, view map

You would just need to remap two of the shoulder buttons. One could go to the Select button. I would remap R2 to Select. If you are able to remap the volume keys on the GP2X, that is where I would put "Select speed spell".

Here is a page that contains screenshots of the PSX version of Diablo.
http://media.psx.ign.com/media/002/002255/imgs_1.html

I'm sure a remake of Diablo II could also be possible, using the above control map as a guide, and without the pseudo-3D mode that it offered. It will just take a lot of work.

 

[slygamer]

I'm not very experienced in this kind of programming but wouldn't it be possible to make an emulator that used non 3D sprites and just skipped all the 3D effects. It wouldn't be the same for sure but at least we could get 2D games running. It would have been fun to play games like Crash Bandicot and Tekken if anyone could get that running fast enough...

​

Err, no. To create a sprite that looks vaguely similar to the 3D game, you have to render the 3D version to a bitmap in realtime anyway, so there is no point. You would have more luck emulating the PSX proper on the GP2X using software 3D rendering, which may or may not happen depending on how clever the guys are who might attempt the PSX emu.

 

[Digital Awakening]

Correct me if I'm wrong but a 3D sprite is basicly a textured polygon? That would mean you can just copy that texture (which is an image) to the frame buffer instead.