Features in up-coming 8bit-Unity 0.5

[8bit-Dude]

With the new release of 8bit-Unity 0.5 just around a corner, I am going to post here some news about features.

To start with, I made a special effort to improve the "point'n'click" tech demo called 8bit-Goblin.

Here is a list of major improvements:

- Scripting engine now based on simple "text" files.

- Added animation paths (motion coordinates and frames).

- Added new targets: Atari 400/800, and NES/Famicom.

This updated Tech Demo in 8bit-Unity 0.5 contains everything for you to get writing a point'n'click game!!!

For more info, check out: http://8bit-unity.com/?page_id=358

Edited January 20, 2022 by 8bit-Dude

[danwinslow]

Wow. Nice stuff!

[zzip]

Interesting

[Beeblebrox]

@8bit-Dude  nice project/work btw. (Been meaning to say that for quite a while now).

 

I saw your Goblin title last yer when I first heard about the project and was very intrigued.

 

Point and click titles are one of the genres the A8 could really do with having more of IMHO, especially mouse and joypad controlled ones. (Mouse in particular for me - it's such an underused control method on A8 and obviously perfect for point and click adventures). We have some excellent games from the 90's like The Curse, and a new (almost completed(?)) eagerly anticipated Polish team coded game called "Asteroida, the cause of life's troubles...that is"  (great title btw).   The latter AFAIK is based on Ilmenit's Adventure studio point and click adventure creator engine. (Ilmenit of Rastaconverter fame)

 

Anyways - great work. 

[xxl]

Excellent application for the ZX0 compressor ?

[8bit-Dude]

5 hours ago, xxl said:

Excellent application for the ZX0 compressor ?

 

Indeed! I will make a full disclaimer in the release notes of all the tools/bits of codes that I have integrated, and all the people who are supporting this project!

 

As a technical note here, it is worth noting that Exomizer is used to compress everything (binaries/bitmaps) except for the Atari XEX files. The way CC65 generates binaries for the Atari means that blocks of memory are re-used several times in a staging process. Exomizer is not able to cope with that.

 

Happily, Chris (XXL) came to the rescue with a ZX0 decompressor that integrates with xBios. That really makes a big difference with how much data can be packed onto a single disk!

[8bit-Dude]

Here is some technical information on how the engine works
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The game only requires to create a couple of bitmaps and text file for each screen. For example:

 

Base bitmap:

 

Animation bitmap:

 

Script file: scene01.txt

 
A python script compiles the text and produces a navigation file (together with a summary image)

 

Navigation summary:

 

So it is very easy to get started!

[Thelen]

This Unity project is very cool! Very nice to create a game for all systems - and with this you even don't have to program ?

[xxl]

I have a proposal - that the subtitles do not disappear after a specified time but are displayed until the button is not pressed.