Game Progress Just a few more things to clean before declaring this puppy is good to go. I was tracking down a somewhat annoying bug that causes halos around sprites when using the screen flash. Turns out to be caused by the vertical filtering on the overlay channel. Disabling filtering fixes it, but makes the game look worse. Since this problem will probably never be seen I'm going to leave it as is.

Game Progress Couple more bugs fixed related to the screen flash. One was a bug in the original Decaying Orbit code.

I have one more thing I want to fix, although it isn't critical by any means. If I can't fix it I'll just leave it. I also have one more thing to add. Then it'll be a marathon session to pound the hell out of the game :)

Game Progress I'm not going to fix that issue. Let's see if anyone notices :P

Wonder if I can get this thing out the door by the weekend...

Game Progress I found a couple issues while testing the game this morning. I also want to add a couple things to enhance the game. Changes this late make me nervous, but they'll be worth it.

If not today then the game will definitely be done tomorrow.

Game Progress All items are checked off my to do list. Look for a release later today.

UPDATE 2004-10-29: I have received around 25 positive responses so far. That's on the edge of where I'd be willing to do it. Any more takers?

UPDATE: Added questions #10 & 11 in the Q/A.

The NUON port of Decaying Orbit is complete at last! Whew, it took longer than I thought. Had I known when I started work back in July 2002 that it would take over two years to complete I likely would not have done it. Thanks for being patient with me.

Grab the zip below for the NUON.CD and README files. Also, check out the official Decaying Orbit site for updates, including cheat codes. Most of the content is geared towards the Yaroze version, but I'll be updating that over time.

Once you've had a chance to try it I have something to ask you.

The Proposal

Would you buy my game?

The game as it stands is pretty much a straight port of the Yaroze (PSOne) original. If I were to keep working on it, enhance it significantly, and get discs made, would you buy it? Making discs is not cheap so I would need some minimum number of takers before I would try this. Hence why I'm asking.

Enhancements

So you need convincing eh? Here's a list of definite enhancements that I will include:

• A second galaxy to explore. The full game was conceived to have five parts, of which the original Decaying Orbit only had the first. I will make part two, the C'Thar galaxy, to go along with the Sparrj levels.
• New object types and enemies.
• Change the sprites to be full color 24-bit images. Right now the sprites use 4-bit (16-color) images since that's what was practical for the Yaroze. Making them 24-bit would look much better.
• Totally new shop screen with much better artwork and usability. Not only is the shop the single ugliest thing in the game, its interface is not intuitive or user friendly. I'll fix that.
• Replace all the crappy programmer art with real graphics. This includes all the ship system pics, the text crawl pics, and anything else that I deem "ugly" coughshopcough.
• Revamped and less intrusive heads-up display.
• Snazzy full color disc artwork, instruction booklet and packaging
• Incentive to finish the game. I ain't saying what it is, but it'll be cool :)
• Lots of extras included on the disc.

I have a few more things in mind, but I'm keeping them under wraps for now. Can't spoil everything can I?

My plan right now is to get CD-Rs printed with custom artwork (not adhesive labels). I will then burn copies of the game as needed. This means that the game will only work on the Samsung N50X machines. The RCA players will boot the game, but it won't be playable due to the lack of controller ports. You *could* try to use the remote, but that'd be masochistic.

Price

I plan to make two different packages available for purchase. Both will include the same game - the only difference will be the packaging. For the cost conscious there will be a version around $10-15 (US) that comes in a printed cardboard sleeve. Game instructions will be printed on the sleeve. The deluxe version will cost around $20-25 (US) and come in a full DVD case with printed instruction booklet. Shipping is extra. International buyers are welcome and the price will be pretty much a straight currency conversion. Shipping overseas will cost more obviously.

UPDATE: From the responses so far most have said they'd buy the deluxe package. If the trend continues then I may not even offer the cheaper version.

Feedback

So sound off and tell me what you think. Once you've finished reading the info here hit this link and fill out the form. All questions are optional, but the more info I have about what you want the better off I will be.

You are not committing to anything by responding. I just want to guage response at this point.

Help Needed

I have posted info about this on a couple forums, but need your help getting the word to more people so as to make it more likely that this project will be a go.

Obviously don't be a spammer, but if you know of a group, forum, or news site that might be interested please point them to the survey page at

http://www.dragonshadow.com/-/decayingorbit/proposal.html

Please link to that page rather than here. I will keep this post at the front of my site for at least a month. Do let me know if you spot a site linking to me. I'll keep a running list here:

• NUON-DOME (direct link to news post)
• NUONica
• Castle NUON
• Digital Press (news item dated 10/11)
• ATARI.ORG (direct link to news post)
• Insert Credit (direct link to news post)

• NUON-Dome forums
• YakYak forums
• Digital Press forums
• Jaguar Sector forums (registration required to view)
• The Next Level forums
• Static Gamer forums
• yAronet forums
• Atari HQ forums
• Atari Age forums

Q/A

Here's answers to some questions you may have.

Done reading? Take the survey.

Let's do this thing. The proposal and survey have been up for over a month now. Results have been trickling in, but I can say with confidence now that I will be going ahead with the plan.

Here's the survey results so far.

I also received two offers to publish the game. It would be really tempting to offload the work to someone else, but my plans as they are now prevent that. If the tools to properly authenticate DVDs get released to the public then it will be easier for someone else to step in and help out on that front. Should that happen I will revisit the publishing question.

Many comments expressed the desire for background music. I've been thinking about this and might find a solution by using the synth. I don't know how much of a processing hit that will make. If necessary I will dedicate MPE0 to audio and only use MPEs 1 & 2 for rendering. In that case I will need to tweak the existing levels to handle the reduced rendering power. Again, if we get the authentication tools then I will be able to stream higher quality music from the disc.

To quickly respond to other comments, yes I will be enhancing graphics and adding levels. I will definitely include an instruction booklet. I will also try to make the game fully compatible with the emulator. Unfortunately FMV or a Jaguar port are out of the question.

As for schedule, I will start on the game after the new year. I have some things to finish up first and the holidays are always crazy. Hopefully I can get it done in time for Christmas 2005 so I can compete with a potential XBox2 and PS3 :)

Andreas kindly sent me an updated version of the synth library. This fixes the incompatibility between the Boot Loader and apps that use the synth. Notably, Snake now works with the Boot Loader when compiled with this updated library.

All new apps that use the synth should use this library to avoid incompatibility with the Boot Loader.

New synth library (1.1 MB)

Unzip libsynth2.a and place it in your SDK's vmlabs\lib directory. You will need to change your app's makefile to link -lsynth2 instead of -lsynth. I renamed it so the two can coexist in case there are problems with this new version.

This is just a quick note to inform the person that keeps trying to submit the same Chomp high score over and over that it won't ever work so you can stop trying. You submitted the score of 4709 on level 2 back on August 10, 2002. Since then you have tried to resubmit the same score eleven more times - the most recent being Monday before last.

I do admire your tenacity and appreciate you playing the game way back then. How about playing it some more and submitting a new high score? I feel kind of weird about holding the five most recently submitted scores.

:)

Yeah, sorry for the quietness. Things have been rather slow lately NUON-wise. I hope to fix that soon as I will be buying a laptop to replace my old P3 desktop. A laptop will let me program while I'm downstairs watching my son (or wherever else).

I've had my eye on a Dell 8600 for about a month now. I've been watching all the silly Dell coupons come and go, waiting for the right one to pop up before buying. Right now they're giving away a printer with a PC purchase. I have no need for one so I'm waiting for that promotion to be replaced by the next one. It looks like that won't happen until after Christmas.

The best offer I've seen so far was 25% off. I didn't know it at the time so I let it go. Now all they're offering are like $250 off a $1500 laptop, which is only 17%. With the free printer that I don't need and the free two-day shipping that I don't want it's really a bad time right now (I'd rather just get normal free shipping and save the difference).

I'm really kicking myself for having missed the great deal they had in October with $750 off a $1500 laptop. I wasn't in the market at the time - too bad I didn't start looking sooner.

It's kind of stupid. I'm prepared to plunk down a grand and a half this instant, but they force me to wait until their marketing department picks the right set of promotions. With the price varying by $300 or more day-to-day you can be sure that I'm waiting for the best deal I can get. In the meantime they risk losing my sale to a competitor. *shrug*

UPDATE: Hmmm, the Compaq X1000 looks like a promising alternative. Screw Dell.