Autoduel PC 3D port

[peteym5]

I had this project in mind for almost 10 years now. It was going to be a "Autoduel" Clone, a game that was originally on the Atari 8-bit/Commodore 64. I kept putting it aside to work other projects and only partly finished it, its been collecting cyber-dust on my hard drive. If you remember the game, it happened in a post-apocalyptic era where there is little law enforcement, breakdown of government type thing. You start with nothing, barrow a car. compete in duels with armored cars that have machine guns, rockets, flame throwers, etc. Games on the 8-bit systems had very basic/simple graphics. It had external arena activities going on with traveling between cities for deliveries, building your custom car, cloning, gambling and going on special missions. If you remember the game, look forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

Version I was looking to do on the PC was going to use Direct3D, some extra stuff in it, but would like to have elements of the original game with arena competitions, making deliveries, secret missions, custom car shops, etc. My personal additions would be a different arena for every city (autoduel used the same arena layout for all the cities). Different terrains. Different type of competitions like duels, battle races, jousts, drag races, etc. would like something different in some of the cities. More vehicle types, weapons, and accessories.

 

I would be happy to turn this over to some developers who can see what I have in mind. Know there was a similar game that was partly like this called highway 78/81. I don't think it had all the elements of "Autoduel" and looking to keep my game intriguing, a good role playing game element. The battling will just be a part of it. There is a strong possibility of mmorpg and personal play port. Maybe do both in one game.

 

I have asked for help in the pass on my projects, but would like game be developed by people who were familiar with the original game. Would be in a 3D environment, have similar buildings and stuff that were in the original game. The PC port might have a new title and some alterations, unless I can get permission from the original copyright holders.

Edited July 12, 2007 by peteym5

[geezer]

Do you mean Interstate 76 / Interstate 82? I played the heck outta both of those on the PC, 76 had a great feel to it and 82 let you do a lot of customizing, but none could compare to Autoduel....

 

I spent days at a time playing autoduel on a friend's c64 before I knew there was an atari version. I'll never forget how we ended up losing everything when my friends mom turned on a vacuum cleaner and the c64 freaked. It did have an intersting bug though - when you first started the game, if you went into the bar and sold your courier tasks, there would be alphanumeric garbage listed as tasks and you could sell that for some instant cash, allowing you to build a pimped out vehicle right from the start! The atari version did not have this bug so you had to work to earn your money. Back in the day, whenever your game was going right, it'd be best to save and then make a dupe of the game disc (side c i think) so you don't lose everything if you suddenly die.

 

A modern version would indeed be awesome, especially with a variety of vehicles like atv's, motorcycles, street cars, 4x4's, 18 wheelers and heck, why not a copter and a plane! If it was done right, it could be made to run standalone and online similar to ultima online. As long as i'm dreaming, imagine if there were some 8-bit client versions that could get online with some help from the PC via proxy. It would be mad max before we know it and atari gangs would be fighting c64 drivers..

 

I guess the first step would be to try and get a blessing from Lord British and Chuckles (listed on title screen iirc?)

[peteym5]

Do you mean Interstate 76 / Interstate 82? .... none could compare to Autoduel....

 

I agree with you there, it is funny that the concept of an old atari 8-bit and commodore 64 game is better than something made for the PC.

 

 

A modern version would indeed be awesome, especially with a variety of vehicles like atv's, motorcycles, street cars, 4x4's, 18 wheelers and heck, why not a copter and a plane! If it was done right, it could be made to run standalone and online similar to ultima online. As long as i'm dreaming, imagine if there were some 8-bit client versions that could get online with some help from the PC via proxy. It would be mad max before we know it and atari gangs would be fighting c64 drivers..

 

I plan on doing a wider range of vehicles. ATVs, Motorcycles, Compacts, Street Cars (Mid Size), Sports Cars, Station Wagons, Pick Ups, SUVs, Vans, Hummers, Utility Trucks. Might Include 18 Wheelers.

 

I guess the first step would be to try and get a blessing from Lord British and Chuckles (listed on title screen iirc?)

 

If we explore this Option, we will try to find these two guys and find the origional copyright holder of Autoduel/Car Wars. Think someone named Steve Jackson holds the rights for Autoduel and do a Google search on it. Last time I checked, he demanded upfront money to use his game concept.

 

The other option is to make a game under a new title with a few changes. If I make a few changes, I should be o.k. It will be done in a 3D environment, the highways will look like real highways. They cannot do nothing about using the same set of cities since they exist in the real world. I was going to make some alterations for a more realistic North East USA. I am in Buffalo, NY, which is one of the cities. Thought about other regions, but most places have big cities too far apart. Other Region I considered was Texas. Maybe I can do both. Don't wanna do something too big and drag the game too long. Use a slightly different set of vehicles, like SUVs did not exist in the original game. Use some sci-fi weapons like gamma ray guns, laser guided rockets, etc. Also going to use a RPG like system for skills, experience points, and levels. You have to be a certain level to enter a level of competition, get assignments, do tasks. Autoduel just had prestige points, mechanic, driving, and markman ship, I think. What you got for courier tasks and quests just based upon that. Probably going to omit like the cloning and AADA, but include a fictional national police force that you can help hunt down outlaws for extra money. A Courier Post will be there but will not function quit the same way.

 

Either way, it will be different, but try to keep the intrigue of the original game. The game might be considered abandoneware by now.

 

I have also posted on the truevision3D forum under 'recruitment'. http://www.truevision3d.com . I was using a different 3D engine, but may be switch to theirs. Also will be using Visual Basic, easier to use. I have been using TV3D for my 3D RPG maker for years.

 

I am not sure if its possible to port anything back to the Atari and Commodore systems. Remember they could only do so much in the original game because of the limits of the hardware at the time. My wish list was they came up with a version that uses the extended banks so you don't have to keep swapping disks and use graphic mode 15 with 4 colors with DLIs and PMGs instead of graphics mode 8 artifacting.

 

I am glad someone replied who remembers the original game and sees my vision.

[King_Salamon]

Speaking of Autoduel... what systems (Atari 8-bit) can run this game? All of them by chance or was there a memory requirement?

[+remowilliams]

I am glad someone replied who remembers the original game and sees my vision.

I'd love to see a modern version of Autoduel. I don't just remember it, I still play it regularly!

 

I76/I82 were some great fun, but had nothing on the core gameplay of Autoduel.

 

Speaking of Autoduel... what systems (Atari 8-bit) can run this game? All of them by chance or was there a memory requirement?

stock - XL/XE only (64K required)

[peteym5]

Atari 800XL, 65XE, 130XE. uses the main 64k. There is a Commodore 64 port. I do believe there is PC Version that ran on the DOS machine, I was never able to find it. Before I start getting back involved in this project, I am going to do some online research and see if I can track down different versions.

[+remowilliams]

I am going to do some online research and see if I can track down different versions.

It was released on the PC, as well as the Apple II, Atari ST and Commodore Amiga. I've got binaries for all of them

[peteym5]

I actually did a Google search and found it on an abondonware site, complete with an instruction Manuel, looks like it was done in EGA or early a low VGA mode. Plays fairly good on my system. I probably will not dive into the project for another month. I also played with the Atari 8-bit and C64 versions. I agree the core concept of the game has potential and very surprised no one is looking to do a modern 3D and MMORPG version of it. However the game is under a copyright with Steve Jackson Games. I will have to either get permission from them or build a game with a new title with some modifications and additions. I will try my best to stick with the core concept.

[MacbthPSW]

Any news? I've been dreaming of making a game like this for years too.

 

Just to point out, there have been other games recently that are truer to Autoduel than Interstate '76 / '82 (awesome as I'76 in particular is).

 

"Car Battler Joe" for the GBA is very much Autoduel remade with a Japanese RPG twist.

 

"Hard Truck: Apocalypse" has most of the core gameplay of Autoduel in a 3D package. It's not perfect, but it comes a lot closer than I'76 does with the RPG, mission, and trading elements.

 

"Auto Assault" was an attempt to make a MMORPG in an Autoduel-like world. It closed up earlier this year.

 

And there are loads of other games that are like Autoduel in one way or another, but they generally lack the RPG elements that I really enjoy.

[+DamonicFury]

I played Autoduel a lot on the Atari way back in the day. I loved the concept so much... enough to ignore the incredibly long disk load times, the almost complete lack of sound, the annoyance of always keeping a backup disk in case of death, etc. The thrill of going on missions, winning arena duels, gambling in Atlantic city, upgrading my vehicle, and seeing my reputation climb kept me coming back again and again. It's amazing to me that a game hasn't come along yet to take the good parts of Autoduels and combine them with a great 3D combat engine. I enjoyed I76 a lot, but it didn't have the great open-ended gameplay that Autoduel did. Best of luck in trying to create a modern version... it's long overdue!

[peteym5]

I kinda shelved this project and was not looking to do all this myself. I would like to work with some people who do see the same thing I do with making a 3D auto-battle game with RPG elements. Many will just do an auto-battle game or leave an element out. I was looking to elaborate on top of the Autoduel concept, include more car and weapon types, more building types, and quests. Would even look to do an MMORPG port. Now this is something I have spoke with a few programmers on www.Truevision3D.com about also. That is the 3D engine (middleware) I am looking to use along with 3DS models. You can do much more on a modern PC that what we had in the 80s 8bit computers. Someone once described Autoduel was a game within a game within a game and is something I wanna stick with.

[peteym5]

Once again considering this game for production. As you know I am involved with other projects. I might be looking other programmers to assist with the work. I was working on a variant under a different name to avoid legal problems. To use the Car Wars or Audoduel would require authorization from Steve Jackson.

 

See: http://www.sjgames.com/carwars/ for details. I was going to based mine loosely around the original Autoduel 2D game that was available on the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, Apple II, IBM DOS PC, etc. Its ok if you don't remember the game. I am looking to use elements of a racing/driving game and add lot more stuff to it. With me being tied up with other projects right now it won't happen unless I know there are lots of people who demand to have such a game.

 

I am going to be watching views and replies to this thread.

 

I had the project started in Visual Basic with the Revolution3D engine. One reason why I abandoned it was all the issues I had with Revolution 3D (buggy, long wait for upgrades, lack of backwards compatibility from prior versions.) I am going to porting it to a different engine and even a different version of Basic (Dark Basic Pro most likely)

Edited March 7, 2009 by peteym5