Author Topic: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0  (Read 8321 times)

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« on: March 10, 2014, 08:32:05 pm »
Hi!

I've ported Freedroid Classic to the GCW Zero. I think it is an excellent game for this platform, and I think it would be an excellent game to test the g-sensor to move the droid around! I haven't figured out yet how to access the g-sensor (with the app). Also, input could change in the next firmware release, I'm told...

Updated for the new firmware!

For the curious: the source - and upstream is here!

I'm really novice in any kind of programming, so please don't laugh at my code  ;D. I'd like someone to review this. It works for me, though!

TODO:
  • Do not patch config.h (there's probably a way to do this with AM_CONDITIONAL, but I don't know how)
  • Graphics could be scaled with better quality either 1) by some coding or 2) manually for just this release and adapting the source to render at 320x240 natively!
  • If someone can figure out why dreamfish-sanxion.mod crashes on GCW Zero, we'd have one more excellent C64 mod music track in the game!
  • Also, clearing a bind for a key (to NULL) crashes on the GCW-0, but not on PC (Linux) -> I've made some re-defines because of this. If [NULL] could be set, some #ifdefs could be removed from input.c to clean up code...
  • I can't seem to get rid of -I/usr/include in the Makefile (I believe this is a so-called toolchain leak) no matter what I try to give to ./configure as options. But on IRC (I believe it was pcercui) told me he had not this problem. I'm using Gentoo, so YMMV. Patching the Makefile may be needed.
  • BUGS: I noticed the intro/instructions .ogg (sci-fi noices) doesn't play for some reason, although the code does compile!
  • OTHER BUGS: Probably

Cheers!

EDIT: Cleaned up the TODO list
EDIT: Added notice about .ogg not playing
EDIT: Added link to the new GIT repository, removed (now obsolete) attatchements
« Last Edit: May 07, 2014, 10:27:26 pm by Wild Penguin »
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2014, 08:54:45 pm »
Sorry, forgot some files!

(put them in a dir named "gcw0" in your git clone, and my script should find them).

Cheers!

EDIT: oh, and remove .txt from the file name, of course!
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2014, 09:54:39 pm »
EDIT: Download link is now in the first post
« Last Edit: May 07, 2014, 10:26:42 pm by Wild Penguin »
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

Thraka

  • Posts: 51
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2014, 04:00:55 am »
Awesome!!!! I will test as soon as I get some time to do it.

Drem

  • Posts: 854
    • Russian Android/Dingo/GCW/gaming gadgets blog
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2014, 10:02:12 am »
This is really interesting project to see it developing further. Keep it up! Quazatron & Magnetron were amongst of most beloved games in my ZX Spectrum era.
I also noticed that there is another "Freedroid" game, RPG. Although it looks like game's resolution is beyond capabilities of Zero's screen, maybe it still possible to port this Freedroid RPG game as well?

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2014, 12:03:52 pm »
Hi Drem (and Thraka)!

Yes, there's still some polishing that could be done ;-). That being said, unless someone can spot some gamestopping bugs, I wouldn't mind it being included in the official repository as it is. The most apparent polishing that is lacking, is the better scaling of the graphics and / or redrawing some of it (the small font is the most obvious candidate). But it doesn't look that bad IMO as it is, it could just be improved.

Aboid FreeDroidRPG: You're absolutely right about FreeDroidRPG - I believe most of the work would involve adapting the UI to 320 x 240, otherwise it should be within the capabilities of the GCW Zero. However adapting the UI might not be that trivial and might involve quite a bit of work. As it is more complex of a game (than FreedroidClassic) it is imperative, that the UI (such as text) is well readable - unlike in FreeDroid Classic, in which it doesn't matter that much if a droid's talking about scratches in paintjob is difficult to read ;-).

Also, I don't know about FreeDroidRPG's other dependencies - there might be some libraries that need to be ported over. It's been a few years since I tried it the last time, and I haven't even looked at it's source either, there might be other issues. It's probable that the UI needs some tweaking here and there. All in all, FreedroidClassic was quite trivial to port, FreedroidRPG will be more work, but probably feasible =).

Cheers!
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

MightyJAK

  • Posts: 538
    • My tumblr
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2014, 06:42:43 pm »
If you just want to test, try this: freedroid.opk


I think there's something wrong with wikisend.com, it's giving me a download for a file called "nnnnnnnn.exe" instead.
???
When I googled "freedroid.opk" the first result was http://wikisend.com/download/361052/freedroid.opk , but that shows a file called "Assignment 8 Grading Rubric.xlsx".
My machines:
GBC,GBA,GBA SP,NDS,NGPC,Panasonic FZ-10 3DO,NES,Sega Nomad,Sega CDX w/Power Base Converter,PS1,PS2,PS3,Saturn,Dreamcast,PC (Win 98, XP, 7),Dingoo A320,Dingoo A330,Gemei A330,LetCool N350JP,PAP-GAMETA,GCW-Zero SE,Kyocera Rise,2DS,GP2X-F100,GPD G7,JXD 100,JXD A1000,JXD A3300,JXD F3000,JXD V5000,JXD S7300B,Hyperkin SupaBoy

Currently playing: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (2DS)

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #7 on: March 22, 2014, 07:04:48 am »
MightJAK: That's because I gave too short a lifetime for the OPK. I re-uploaded it with a longer lifetime.
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2014, 04:20:16 pm »
There is now a GIT repository for the changes - to ease collaboration in case someone is interested!
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

Senor Quack

  • Posts: 225
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2014, 08:00:53 am »
I'd be interested but why not complete it? :)

-senquack #gcw Freenode iRC

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #10 on: March 25, 2014, 04:04:02 pm »
Senor Quack,

In case you thought I had abandoned the project and left it for the community to finish, I haven't  8). I will continue to work on it!

The GIT is mainly just a great tool for projects like this and host the source, instead of a DIFF file hosted on a forum. I've just learned (learning) myself to use GIT via this project - this is a great way to learn!

The benefits include: 1) of course the obvious place to push most recent changes (that can be cloned by everyone instantly to play with on their own computer), but also 2) the upstream can see the work and pull the changes they are interested in and 3) In case someone wants to, they can make their own fork and make changes, and hopefully eventually make a pull request (like I've made for upstream).

That being said, I still have limited free time - as most of this do (for example it is unlikely I will make updates in the coming two weeks), and also limited skill(s).

Cheers!
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

johnnyonflame

  • Posts: 219
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #11 on: April 10, 2014, 02:22:45 am »
Good job, taking the first step is the hardest part. Just make sure its an enjoyable activity and eventually you'll also learn it.

Whenever I get hold of my desktop (which is not here, I'll only have access it once I travel, probably next week.) I'll send you the sources for my accelerometers thing, and hopefully it'll help you.

And remember that there's always #gcw and #opendingux channels on irc.freenode.net, where you can chat with other community members and developers.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2014, 02:25:35 am by johnnyonflame »

Wild Penguin (OP)

  • Posts: 70
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #12 on: May 07, 2014, 09:02:47 pm »
Hi!

The OPK I've uploaded before does not work anymore. I've updated the build script, but wikisend is wonky ATM. EDIT: Suddenly wikisend started working, the link is in the first post. If you have problems, report here and I'll re-upload it somewhere. Any tips for another place to host the OPK are welcome ;). Those who are impatient may try the git to compile yourself.

Good job, taking the first step is the hardest part. Just make sure its an enjoyable activity and eventually you'll also learn it.

Whenever I get hold of my desktop (which is not here, I'll only have access it once I travel, probably next week.) I'll send you the sources for my accelerometers thing, and hopefully it'll help you.

And remember that there's always #gcw and #opendingux channels on irc.freenode.net, where you can chat with other community members and developers.

Thanks for your feedback. I will work on it, but I have limited free time and other interesting stuff to do, too!

The next (obvious) step will be a better downscaling of some of the grapchics (those that don't look good).

About using the accelometer: I gave this some more thought, and it might not work so well on Freedroid as on some other game (lke neverball!). For example, some of the droids are slow by nature - and that might make using the G-Sensor a bit unintuitive / weird. But can't really tell for sure before it's tested. And I can't / won't / don't want to make them fast since they were never meant to be 8). But some droids are fast, and it would be interesting to be able to move with slow and fast speeds with them!
« Last Edit: May 07, 2014, 10:29:06 pm by Wild Penguin »
My Hocoslamfy highscore: 107. Also try Freedroid for GCW0!

MightyJAK

  • Posts: 538
    • My tumblr
Re: Porting Freedroid Classic to GCW-0
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2014, 10:45:13 pm »
Any tips for another place to host the OPK are welcome ;).

I don't know how well they manage uploads, but I usually have good experiences downloading from mediafire.com and mega.co.nz
My machines:
GBC,GBA,GBA SP,NDS,NGPC,Panasonic FZ-10 3DO,NES,Sega Nomad,Sega CDX w/Power Base Converter,PS1,PS2,PS3,Saturn,Dreamcast,PC (Win 98, XP, 7),Dingoo A320,Dingoo A330,Gemei A330,LetCool N350JP,PAP-GAMETA,GCW-Zero SE,Kyocera Rise,2DS,GP2X-F100,GPD G7,JXD 100,JXD A1000,JXD A3300,JXD F3000,JXD V5000,JXD S7300B,Hyperkin SupaBoy

Currently playing: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (2DS)

 

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