I remember playing Icicle Works on my mate's Plus 4 ... not sure I remember it as Repton-like, though, as I remember it being fairly easy and not much in the way of tricky puzzles. My memories are more reminiscent of Pengo.



I do seem to remember that there was a bug which meant that when you reached a certain score, you earned so many points just for walking on screen that you automatically got an extra life - hence, infinite lives!

Amusing ...

Sam.

Pretty sure it's not Tubular Bells, didn't recognise it, just some in-game music which is great and really sticks in your head !! or it could be a really bad rendition!

If you can get hold of a copy of VICE (Commodore emulator) and download Exorcist http://plus4world.powweb.com/software/Exorcist then you can see what you think whether it is or isn't.

Matt

It is a bit Repton-ish what with the falling rocks/snowballs and digging through earth! no diamonds though, you collected presents instead I think. A great game , the C16 had some quality games, and also the worst ever version of Jet Set Willy.

Matt

Totally agree! That tune is an essential part of the game.


It would be great if it was but no, the tune is just a simple up-beat little ditty that plays constantly throughout the game. It's only a few bars long but it's one of the better C16 tunes. It's also used to good effect by increasing the pitch and tempo as you progress through each level. It adds a sense of urgency to the game in a subtle way. Quite impressive for a game of that era.

Cheers,
Paul.

Tried Exorcist last night and I just couldn't stop playing it; it's very addictive! It certainly would be nice to see this one on the BBC/Electron, too. And that tune ... wow ... I see what you mean about it being catchy, and I think it would lend itself to the BBC Micro very well. In fact, it already sounds as if it could be coming straight out of the Beeb's speaker as it is!

As for Treasure Island, I loaded it into Vice but couldn't get it to do anything ... (what are the keys? Cursors didn't seem to work)

Accordingly to various online sources, the author of both games (Greg Duddle) is still - or was, up until recently - involved in the games industry - so after the conversion(s) are completed, if we were to track him down, perhaps we might be able to get permission to offer packaged versions (in addition to the free download) too?

The game is joystick only. In VICE you can either use a USB gamepad or emulate a joystick with the keyboard by going to Settings > Joystick Settings then choose a key mapping for port 2.


Cool, even if it does put more pressure on to make sure the conversion is a good one

I can still hear that tune in my head now, haven't played Exorcist for years, very catchy tune indeed, the C16 sound used to come out of the TV so it was always very loud too ! Really hope this project can happen.

HHHHeeellllllloooo PaulDv

can't mind of that game BITD when my mate had a Commodore16/64 He was always at my bit playing my beeb

game looks wicked, and your going to convert more

you guys are Gods

There is now an entry for Treasure Island in the Wiki. Thanks to Samwise for setting everything up.

I'll try and keep it updated regularly with diary entries and screen shots as the game progresses.

If there's any interest I might do a 'how it was done' type entry. Such as how did I fit nigh on 24K of Plus/4 graphics into a mode 2 beeb game

Top stuff Paul!! I thought the 'Sabre Wulf' thing too, and that's no bad thing.

Looking forward to watching the progress - and the other conversions too.

What's the Tubular Bells demo btw...?

Thanks for clarifying the Joysticks issue, Paul ... will give it another try at the weekend (away for a few days now).

Glad to see it's got its own page on the Wiki ... do you think you'll be able to provide progress updates on both the forum as well as the Wiki? ('cause I reckon if you were to post updates on the forum too, it might result in you receiving a bit more feedback).

Tim: Tubular Bells demo? Not sure where I saw it ... maybe in the BBC PD section of the Acorn World website (before the files went! ).

Surely everyone interested will click the Watch button at the bottom of the Treasure Island wiki page, to get email updates every time Paul adds to his diary ... ?



Sam.

There be piccies on the wiki

Just a few sample screen shots of actual locations in the game plus a collage of tile images.

Ooh, piccies on the Wiki already?

<goes n' looks>

Wow, I really dig the large, tiled scenery - can't believe how colourful it all looks ... and the detail on the mountains etc has transferred across really well I think.

KEEP IT UP!!

(Can't wait to see the next set of pics! )

Maybe I am missing the obvious here , but how do I see this wiki page ?

cheers
Matthew

Matt, how long have you been here?

Direct link: http://www.retrosoftware.co.uk/treasureisland

Or click on the WIP (Work In Progress) link in the top menu bar to browse all the current Retro Software projects, including Treasure Island.

Releases contains all the released projects ...

Sam.

Dammit Sam! I was just about to double my 'forum help' score then

Martin

haha.

Sorry, Martin. Maybe I should leave the low-hanging fruit for you ...

Sam.

Nah, best not - chances are it'll just rot....

Martin

So I was missing the obvious !!!

Thanks for the info. Game looks good too. Look forward to playing it.

Matt