hi everybody,
I always wanted to remake Elite by merging it with Zarch.
Zeewolf type of game seemed to be more simple so i made that first.
Unfortunately, in a meantime i lost "Zarch remake" source code, but
now, thanks to all the Elite remakes i can easily re-write other, the
bigger part of the grand merge project... (*Zarch aka Virus on PC, see
also Zeewolf, Zeewolf2 on Amiga, best game ever!)
- why is this remake different?
beside the Zeewolf-like planet surface additional missions my goal is
actually to keep its original look, Archimedes Elite look that is, so
NO TEXTURES, i hate textures, but anyway i think thats the biggest
mistake about trying to make Elite better, to cut it short, i think
one of the reasons why Elite 'works' is because the graphic input was
limited, but sufficient enough to engage players *imagination* and
form an experience that might be compared to reading a book as opposed
to watching remake movie that so often fail to visually match what
different people had imagined when they were reading a book(played
original Elite)
so, imagine this : ArcElite+Zewolf,
and instead of adding pretty textures or adding anything visually new
i want only to EXTEND in ArcElite direction:- "...intelligent
opponents who engage in their own private battles and police who take
an active interest in protecting the law. The game world no longer
seems to be centered around the player; freighter fleets with escorts
go about their own business, pirate formations patrol lawless systems
looking for cargo to loot and mining ****ps can often be found breaking
up asteroids for their mineral content ...geometric formations of
space beacons; hermits living among the asteroids; abandoned ****ps
towed by police..."
particles, engine/missile trails and other graphics additions that fit
already defined visuals of ArcElite will be included, as of course
Dredgers and Generation ****ps!
code-wise it will be simplify, simplify, simplify... smaller the
better, ****table too, for now its in GLUT which means can be ****ted
easily to any platform... speaking of small size and ****tability you
might wanna check my Linux distro called 'myOS', which is the smallest
OpenGL capable Operating System, as far as i know anyway...
- in what stage is it now?
its playable Elite-TNK (C.Pinder) version with gfx_ functions
converted to OpenGL
- whats the plan?
STAGE 1.
to truly and completely convert it to OpenGL, that will produce filled
polygons and lighting, but also means re-writing at least %30, which
is easy but will affect the AI, which, if done properly, should be a
good thing and will fix jerky docking computer, missiles circle static
object...
STAGE 2.
- re-write AI and include all the ArcElite stuff
- planet surface Zeewolf-like missions: flying/driving/floating
? STAGE 3.
- random mission generator
or
- more arcade like game play, Elite status in 45minutes,
for example - 5 missions of about 45min play time in total, after
completing the game you reach Elite status with perfect score, think
Star Wars Arcade, but with elite flight mechanics (SWA -MAME, SEGA
32X )
closing words...
there is no money out of this, purpose is educational & recreational,
meaning that all my motivation is driven by others desire to improve
source code or learn from it and, of course, by people interest in
actually playing this sort of remake, so dont hestitate, e-mail me,
post a comment, share an idea...
http://polarelephant.blogspot.com/
http://www.geocities.com/ze_aks/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/abaraba1/index.htm
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