Gianas Returns OUT NOW

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:54 pm

It think he is saying it does not use the RD function in kos. Easy to think it does because it's a 5 meg bin and the grafix i dont think are made from static bitmaps compiled into the code sort of like xpm files maybe i dont know.

but there are no files outside of the bin. On the windows version i think you need to have the images outside of the exe you dont have to but most games do. Even retail one's

Sweater Fish · Post by **Sweater Fish** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 3:45 pm

It think he is saying it does not use the RD function in kos.

I don't think the game is made with KOS at all, is it? At least it's not mentioned in the "Tools we used" section of the credits.

Kind of interesting that Giana's Return and Beats Of Rage are the two most impressive 2D games we've seen so far on the DC and neither one uses KOS. Perhaps writing a game for the PC and then porting it raw to the Dreamcast is really a better solution, at least for 2D games. Does anyone know if Patbier is using KOS for the Dreamcast version of Alice?

...word is bondage...

Ian Micheal · Post by **Ian Micheal** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 4:32 pm

It does use Kos i checked the bin. Just open it in note pad check the bottom line you will see it uses Kos. I think they forget to say it uses kos.

BlackAura · Post by **BlackAura** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 4:50 am

Trust me on this - 2D games using the Dreamcast's 3D hardware can do some very, very cool stuff. Far beyond anything ever done in any commercial 2D game, at least. There are some free PC games that use 3D hardware for 2D stuff, but pretty much nobody's ever seen them, so...

Aside from which, it's easier to use the DC's 3D hardware than it is to render things directly to the framebuffer. It's also faster, and allows you to get better image quality, because you can do things you just don't have enough CPU time to do manually (like blending, scaling, rotation, colour changing).

All we need is for someone to write a game that takes advantage of that.

As for BoR... It was originally designed to run on DOS, so had to do everything by itself, directly on the hardware. Most of that code it's particularly reliant on the underlying hardware, so it can be ported to the low-level hardware of the Dreamcast without too much difficulty (compared to other programs which rely on having more functionality provided by the OS, or whatever passes for an OS). However, that low-level stuff isn't exactly trivial to write in the first place. If you're got it, use it. If not, it makes more sense to use functionality provided for you (like SDL, or 3D hardware, or whatever).

As with most machines, the Dreamcast is pretty easy to program for on the bare hardware, provided you aren't doing anything terribly complex. You can manipulate the video and sound hardware directly just as easily as you can on a PC under DOS, possibly more so because the DC's hardware wasn't designed in the 1980s. If you want anything more complex though, it makes sense to have something resembling an operating system which takes care of a lot of the low-level details for you, especially when handling things like threads, 3D hardware, the Maple bus, networking...

chn wrote:You know, I'm a bit frustrated at the moment, I somewhat regret having programmed the game. It seems like many people out there are too much used to playing emulators and can't appreciate the work that goes into making a game completely from scratch. That's my personal opinion, other team members may think differently. But I won't program games for free anymore after Giana's Return is finished. Maybe I'm too sensitive, but that's how I feel.

Don't feel bad about it. At least your game got noticed. Most homebrew games get ignored, because people are too busy playing games on the various emulators. Yes, many of them don't appreciate how hard it is to actually make a game from scratch. However, they'll happily play games of one type on an emulator, and then complain bitterly when a new game in basically the same style as the games they're playing on emulators gets released. Most of the people here, which they may be a little critical, are at least trying to give appropriate feedback. The ones who are just complaining about everything aren't the majority. That's generally more than most homebrew games get.

Bertrude · Post by **Bertrude** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 7:09 am

Yeah, don't be discouraged chn. It's a great achievement. I started playing last night and I'll be doing it again tonight because it makes me grin.

I've always liked old school 2d platformers so this is very welcome in my opinion.

It's a cool game and I expect many others are getting a great deal of pleasure from it. Job well done.

law56ker · Post by **law56ker** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:43 am

GReat job chn i love your game.

Hobbes T Tiger · Post by **Hobbes T Tiger** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 10:45 am

http://www.gianas-return.de/faq.html

I realised today that many of the "bugs" reported are actually covered in the faq as features. Give it a look.

And please send an e-mail to feedback (at) gianas-return (dot) de - That's how it is in the read me so I'll leave it like that for you. The developers say they've had 1500 downloads and only 1 e-mail. These guys are getting a bit sad so let's cheer them up. They deserve it and it's in our interest to give some feedback.

Bertrude · Post by **Bertrude** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 7:14 am

It is a poor response, especially with so many downloads. So I'd like to echo Hobbes and encourage those that have enjoyed it to let them know as there's nothing worse than putting your heart & soul into projects and have them dismissed.

So come on people, do your bit and encourage such game development.

Mikey242 · Post by **Mikey242** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 12:25 pm

Im gonna try this tonight, finally lol. Will also give feedback, they deserve it from what ive seen. Hey Bertrude, you in sheffield too ?

Bertrude · Post by **Bertrude** » Thu Mar 11, 2004 3:43 pm

Yeah,

For my sins, heh, heh.