🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <MT87692.90May29030535@uikku.tut.fi> (Mikko Tsokkinen) writes:
>1. Should game be HD-installable?

In my opinion games do not have to be HD installable, however and this is
a big however, the game should be smart enough to detect autoconfiged RAM
and use it as a "RAM" disk. There are a lot of systems with 512K extra and
many with 2M or more extra RAM, if you can load all of the data off your
floppy into RAM when it is available and then make changing levels and
such extremely fast, then I will like your game.  You should also make
your floppy routines as fast as possible, but you would probably do that
anyway.

>2. Should game multitask?

It is not necessary to be able to download files while your game is
running, but I would like to be able to pause it and pop back to 
the the "real world" when I need to. Also, I would like to be able
to start your game and then exit back to a system that is still 
usable (this means NO REBOOT is required after your game exits)

>3. Should game detect extra memory/diskdrives/processors?

>   - IMHO memory is must because it makes the game lot more playable and 
>     HD-people don't argue about the loading speed. 

We are in definite agreement here.

>     Extra drives eat memory which causes serious trouble in 512k machines. 

This is a problem but you should strive to run with _two_ floppies attached.
At least that way you won't get too many people mad at you.

> Processors are useless in simple scroll games because they at least should 
> be using the blitter in nasty-mode so processors don't speed it up too much. 

Two things, your game _must_ work on a 68010 processor and should work
on an 020 and 030 processor. Games that change speed when the processor
is changed are probably broken. How difficult is it to let the CIA timer
run and give you an accurate time reference ? 

> Nowadays the games also must run on all motorola 680x0 family thanks 
> to A3000. But by detecting I mean really notice the speed increase 
> and add new things to game (BTW my program notices but noone of my 
> friends has 68020/68030 so I dunno how much it helps:-). 

Take the time to find a system that is _different_ than you and your
friends. I am sure that the an authorized Commodore representative, 
in the interest of helping a developer out, could find a machine for
you to test on.

>4. Should game be exitable?
>   - IMHO exitable games are harder to protect and you can't 
>     destroy anything in memory and you will end up again without 
>     enough memory:-(     

First, continually try to use the least amount of memory possible.
Second, the game _Should_ be exitable. If you can detect that there
is not enough memory to run you should put up a requester saying :
	"Not enough memory to run, continuing to run will
	 require a reboot on exit. Continue ? (Yes) (No)"

That way, if I knew I wasn't going to have a problem I could say yes,
or I could cancel the game, go save my file changes and then restart
the game and say "yes" the second time. Why are "exitable" games any
harder to protect than non-exitable ones?

> And I would like also to know how many of you people really play games 
> while doing something else? If you do, do you really like those every 
> now and then updating games with poor graphics (thanks to memory shortage).

You are confusing technical excellence in graphics with Game quality. 
I have played video games that had excellent graphics but the "quality"
of the game sucked eggs! "Revenge of the Jedi" is a good example (it's
an arcade game). Other arcade games such "Looping" and "Mr. Doo" had 
a good game play but very poor graphics.  I would also challenge your
two assertions that a) Multitasking games are "every now and then" updating
and b) "thanks to memory shortage". I think both are "stupid programmer
couldn't figure it out." 

Cheers,

--
--Chuck McManis						    Sun Microsystems
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: <none>   Internet: cmcmanis@Eng.Sun.COM
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
"I tell you this parrot is bleeding deceased!"