My New Apple II Text Adventure Project

[ColecoGamer]

I guess its time to announce this project, since development is in full-swing.

 

Please find below the introduction to Vampasm; a futuristic vampire hunting game set in the distant future:

 

 

Vampasm

 

The Park:

You awake to find yourself lying on a patch of sweet smelling, green grass, inside the local park. Your head is throbbing from a large bump on the back of your head. The events before waking up seem disjointed and hazy. As you slowly sit up to get your bearings, the world around you seems to spin out of control. What the hell happened to you? Who hit you over the head? A woman… you vaguely remember a thin, tall, well-endowed raven haired lady with perky red lips. The silver crucifix and chain that was wrapped around her neck sparkled wildly. What’s her name? Unfortunately you can’t remember it. There is one thing you do remember, though - you are a seasoned vampire hunter for the city of Neo New York. You also recall the day and the year - Wednesday, April of 2093. And as a rule, you are extremely proficient at dispatching ‘Blood Suckers’, as your memory recalls.

 

Since after 2052, the need for trained vampire hunters became a reality, shortly after the existence of these creatures was proven to be legitimate. Some experts of the day argued that vampirism was an illness that rode on the back of a giant celestial rock (an asteroid) that  impacted the Earth back in 2038. Others argued that vampires always co-existed alongside mankind, but no evidence was ever found to prove this theory. In fact, the existence of vampires happened by late 2050, when a small Texas town was besieged by a large group of those cannibalistic monsters.

 

Vampire hunting pumps through your veins; its become a family tradition of sorts, as many of your ancestors were self-accomplished vamp hunters. Now the torch (or rather the stake) has been handed down to you. As a hunter, you must register in your hometown (in this case, Neo New York) and receive a valid hunting license. There are specific rules to hunting the NightStalkers (as they are generally called; saying Vampire feels so 20th Century). Though they are many, there is ONE rule that MUST be followed - always be sure the person you are hunting is a NightStalker. Otherwise, it becomes murder. 
 

(I will post updates in this thread, as they occur. I am very excited about this project; I hope everyone else will be too!)

Edited March 27, 2022 by ColecoGamer

[TheDevil'sCompass]

Sounds very cool. Look forward to following this project.

[ColecoGamer]

Work on Vampasm has been slow recently due to my work schedule. If I plan on having scenery graphics in this game, I need to hunt down a mouse (at the very least) to be able to draw properly in Graphics Magician.

 

Just a quick question - is there a modern day  equivalent to Graphics Magician, where I can draw Apple II graphics, and then somehow import them into the project itself? 
 

For example: GrafX for both Mac/PC is one such paint program where you can draw graphics for multiple platforms, including the Amiga, ST, etc. Does something similar for the Apple II exist

on modern computer platforms? Trying to win an Apple II mouse on eBay is like pulling teeth, as sniper bidders will always come in at the last few seconds, increasing the price to head-spinning amounts.

 

Not to sound rude, but yes - a mouse is needed to draw effectively. The keyboard and/or a joystick are terrible methods for drawing on a computer! I mention this because in a previous thread, someone argued that a mouse wasn’t necessary. Anyone who has drawn graphics on any computer (at least as far back as the Amiga/ST), will tell you that using a mouse is only second to a drawing tablet.

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by ColecoGamer
Typeos

[Iamgroot]

1 hour ago, ColecoGamer said:

Not to sound rude, but yes - a mouse is needed to draw effectively. The keyboard and/or a joystick are terrible methods for drawing on a computer! I mention this because in a previous thread, someone argued that a mouse wasn’t necessary. Anyone who has drawn graphics on any computer (at least as far back as the Amiga/ST), will tell you that using a mouse is only second to a drawing tablet.

 

Not to be rude, but "NO IT'S NOT".  A mouse is an extremely slow method of drawing accurate graphics.  But that is neither here nor there.  each to his own.  Having got that off my chest as (your trying not to be rude) was just burning me, :)

 

Kidding aside.  Are you working on Lo-res, Hi-res or Dbl-hi-res graphics?

 

Someone just released their dbl-lo-res drawing program on Facebook.

For hi-res there is Blazing Paddles, MicroPaint, 816Paint, Beagle Plot by Beagle Bros

For dbl-hi-res there is Double-Stuff by Nibble, 816Paint, Beagle Plot

 

And you know about Graphics Magician.  Try 816Paint, it is mouse oriented and a bit better over all in operation but lacks the animation features of Graphics Magician.

 

There is a very simple font display routine from Compute magazine called HROUT for printing fonts to the hi-res screen.

 

I was unhappy with all of the dbl-hi-res graphics editors, so I wrote my own.  I won't get into specifics unless requested.  But it is quite a bit more powerful with useful features than anything else.  I did the "Flying Toasters" screen saver with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ColecoGamer]

10 minutes ago, Iamgroot said:

 

Not to be rude, but "NO IT'S NOT".  A mouse is an extremely slow method of drawing accurate graphics.  But that is neither here nor there.  each to his own.  Having got that off my chest as (your trying not to be rude) was just burning me,

 

Kidding aside.  Are you working on Lo-res, Hi-res or Dbl-hi-res graphics?

 

Someone just released their dbl-lo-res drawing program on Facebook.

For hi-res there is Blazing Paddles, MicroPaint, 816Paint, Beagle Plot by Beagle Bros

For dbl-hi-res there is Double-Stuff by Nibble, 816Paint, Beagle Plot

 

And you know about Graphics Magician.  Try 816Paint, it is mouse oriented and a bit better over all in operation but lacks the animation features of Graphics Magician.

 

There is a very simple font display routine from Compute magazine called HROUT for printing fonts to the hi-res screen.

 

I was unhappy with all of the dbl-hi-res graphics editors, so I wrote my own.  I won't get into specifics unless requested.  But it is quite a bit more powerful with useful features than anything else.  I did the "Flying Toasters" screen saver with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ultimately, a stylus works best, which I use on my iPad. I guess we can agree to disagree on the mouse.

 

Thank you very much for the suggestions; I’ll check them out. I plan on drawing Hi-Res graphics, to answer your question. ??

[The Usotsuki]

Random: One of the first graphics tablet systems for home computers was developed for the Apple ][ by none other than Todd Rundgren. ?

[ColecoGamer]

9 minutes ago, The Usotsuki said:

Random: One of the first graphics tablet systems for home computers was developed for the Apple ][ by none other than Todd Rundgren. ?

Graphic Tablets were nice, but a lot of them were very expensive to own back in the day. I learned to use the mouse and it always worked fine for me. ? 

[Keatah]

44 minutes ago, The Usotsuki said:

Random: One of the first graphics tablet systems for home computers was developed for the Apple ][ by none other than Todd Rundgren. ?

I've always been surprised at the amount of rockstars that are into the sciences. Anyhow.. An Apple II graphics tablet can be had on ebay anywhere from just under $100 to about $450. Depending on if you get stuck in a bidding war. Not sure if Rundgren worked on the hardware. But he did make a sold-separately Graphics Utopia package.

[ColecoGamer]

2 hours ago, Keatah said:

I've always been surprised at the amount of rockstars that are into the sciences. Anyhow.. An Apple II graphics tablet can be had on ebay anywhere from just under $100 to about $450. Depending on if you get stuck in a bidding war. Not sure if Rundgren worked on the hardware. But he did make a sold-separately Graphics Utopia package.

A lot of the tablets I’ve tried to win were auctions that blew up by the end.

[Keatah]

Yes that happens almost all the time. Just keep at it and bid your highest. Or do without.

 

I so wanted an official Apple Graphics Tablet back in the day. But I was getting burned out working all summer long to have money to buy stuff all winter long. And I had to have the 10MB hard disk for my AE line. So I never quite got the AGT. But I did get a Koala Pad. And I found it to be a reasonable analogue (of a graphics tablet). Made and edited lotsa hi-res pictures. Great times!

[ColecoGamer]

53 minutes ago, Keatah said:

Yes that happens almost all the time. Just keep at it and bid your highest. Or do without.

 

I so wanted an official Apple Graphics Tablet back in the day. But I was getting burned out working all summer long to have money to buy stuff all winter long. And I had to have the 10MB hard disk for my AE line. So I never quite got the AGT. But I did get a Koala Pad. And I found it to be a reasonable analogue (of a graphics tablet). Made and edited lotsa hi-res pictures. Great times!

I’ll certainly keep at it. I wouldn’t mind a graphics tablet either. Hopefully I’ll get lucky and win one of them. ?

[TheDevil'sCompass]

Here are some graphic converters that may be of use:

Apple II Graphics (Apple //e and Apple IIgs Inclusive) (appleoldies.ca)

GitHub - Pixinn/Rgb2Hires: Converts an RGB image (.png, .jpeg) into a binary file compliant with the Apple II's HIRES format.

eIrOcA - Apple ][ Graphic

 

Here's an ebay listing for a mouse that says it is compatible with the //c. This is a buy it now with multiples available:

Apple Mouse IIe Vintage Desktop Apple II Macintosh Serial M0100 A2M4035 A2M2070 | eBay

 

[ColecoGamer]

On 4/16/2022 at 4:30 AM, TheDevil'sCompass said:

Here are some graphic converters that may be of use:

Apple II Graphics (Apple //e and Apple IIgs Inclusive) (appleoldies.ca)

GitHub - Pixinn/Rgb2Hires: Converts an RGB image (.png, .jpeg) into a binary file compliant with the Apple II's HIRES format.

eIrOcA - Apple ][ Graphic

 

Here's an ebay listing for a mouse that says it is compatible with the //c. This is a buy it now with multiples available:

Apple Mouse IIe Vintage Desktop Apple II Macintosh Serial M0100 A2M4035 A2M2070 | eBay

 

Thank you! Those tools (from what I read) will allow me to convert images to the Apple II graphics format. This means I can use modern software to draw my images, and then use those tools to convertor them. This was exactly what I was looking for!