@Gmatom That doesn't surprise me at all, having spoken a few times to Gavin Rummery (who wrote the level editor) and heard great things about the other main programmer Paul Douglas.
A bit of Tomb Raider trivia that's not widely known concerning Aspyr is that before signing up to publish the Mac ports of TR1 and TR2 in the late 90s, they were a tiny Mac publishing house run out of the home of one of their co-founders.
They had no right getting or even bidding on the contract from Eidos, but they went for it anyway and pretended they were a larger company. (And then they hired @Gmatom to do the porting grunt work, which she smashed out with awesome improvements.) I talked to the founders about this once; it'll be in the second volume of Secret History of Mac Gaming, if that's ever finished.
They had no right getting or even bidding on the contract from Eidos, but they went for it anyway and pretended they were a larger company. (And then they hired @Gmatom to do the porting grunt work, which she smashed out with awesome improvements.) I talked to the founders about this once; it'll be in the second volume of Secret History of Mac Gaming, if that's ever finished.
Really cool to see Aspyr sharing their approach to the Tomb Raider remasters and to tease at the effort that went into preserving the original game in a 1:1 graphics and controls overhaul.
And also interesting (though very much unsurprising) to note that they pitched it to Crystal Dynamics and were the driving force behind the project.
https://blog.playstation.com/2024/01/16/tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-ps4-ps5-features-detailed-new-key-art-revealed/
And also interesting (though very much unsurprising) to note that they pitched it to Crystal Dynamics and were the driving force behind the project.
https://blog.playstation.com/2024/01/16/tomb-raider-i-iii-remastered-ps4-ps5-features-detailed-new-key-art-revealed/
@tkn
@CodingItWrong That wiki page covers most of the detail, but to offer a more pithy explanation: it's all semantics, as all 3D games are ultimately rendered as a 2D image, but when people say "real" or "true" 3D they usually mean polygonal 3D, where the maps and all objects are stored and manipulated as 3D coordinates -- including the player, enemies, and camera.
Doom looks 3D thanks to its use of billboarding (for sprites) plus ray casting and binary space partitioning (for walls and floors), but you could render it as a top-down maze and it's mechanically the same game. Marathon uses shearing (sliding and scaling on the y axis) to create an optical illusion that you're looking up and down but is also using tricks to present 2D geometry and logic as though it's 3D.
@CodingItWrong That wiki page covers most of the detail, but to offer a more pithy explanation: it's all semantics, as all 3D games are ultimately rendered as a 2D image, but when people say "real" or "true" 3D they usually mean polygonal 3D, where the maps and all objects are stored and manipulated as 3D coordinates -- including the player, enemies, and camera.
Doom looks 3D thanks to its use of billboarding (for sprites) plus ray casting and binary space partitioning (for walls and floors), but you could render it as a top-down maze and it's mechanically the same game. Marathon uses shearing (sliding and scaling on the y axis) to create an optical illusion that you're looking up and down but is also using tricks to present 2D geometry and logic as though it's 3D.
I didn't check out Aerofoil when I first read about it in @MossRC's book, but now I wish I had. It's an attempt to preserve Glider PRO as unchanged as possible on modern systems. And it's free! If you like old Mac games definitely check it out, even if you also have Glider PRO running on original hardware. https://galeforcegames.itch.io/aerofoil
Video: The origin of Mario like you've never heard it before. Even if you think you know the Donkey Kong story, you don't.
Please share this wherever you can think to, and consider supporting my research on Patreon.
https://www.acriticalhit.com/hidden-influences-mario-how-popeye-game-became-donkey-kong/
Staying at a hotel tonight with liquid hand soap dispensers that you squeeze rather than push, pull, or put your hand under to operate. It's such a lovely tactile experience that I'm surprised I've never encountered it elsewhere.
@allenu Thanks! It was a surreal experience, between the beautiful landscape and creepy cows. I also have these two other shots as we were approaching them. Most of the cows just stood completely motionless, watching us.
Stumbled across this old photo of mine and it made me laugh. I remember they stood like this for about two minutes before stepping out of the way and letting us past.
@Gmatom You finished it! I've been looking forward to seeing this one done, and it does not disappoint. Looks fantastic.
Finished another #NerdStitch project, recreating the cover of Richard Moss’ wonderful book, The Secret History of Mac Gaming. Back when he was writing it, I had a fun trip down memory lane talking with him about my years as a Mac game developer, and neat to read stories of all the other game devs. #MacGaming @MossRC
@ernie I'm using that very Asus machine you mentioned right now, after deciding against a MacBook Pro because of the combo of high RAM+storage costs (I need a minimum of 24GB + 1TB), non-repair/upgradability, and a keyboard I don't like.
Really enjoying it — beautiful screen, pretty-good keyboard and touchpad, does everything I throw at it with ease (even intense audio editing tasks), light weight for its size, etc. And way cheaper than an Apple laptop with comparable specs.
Really enjoying it — beautiful screen, pretty-good keyboard and touchpad, does everything I throw at it with ease (even intense audio editing tasks), light weight for its size, etc. And way cheaper than an Apple laptop with comparable specs.
Here's me on the podcast When Does It Get Fun? having a long and in-depth conversation about FPS games, some of the challenges of making FPSDOC, and, rather surprisingly, the appeal of sports games — particularly my love for Pro Evolution Soccer, why people play MyCareer/Be A Pro modes, and why I don't like how present-day FIFA/EA Sports FC plays.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/47JnPiqbtCdj57HnWDNJ1n?si=3643adc98e59441f&nd=1
https://open.spotify.com/episode/47JnPiqbtCdj57HnWDNJ1n?si=3643adc98e59441f&nd=1
@vga256 Very much so, between packaging design, manufacturing, and shipping costs, and also factoring in retail margins. The percentage of sales price that converts to actual revenue has massively increased since the era of big box games.
Also in that draft budget, in a show of how much the internet has changed things since then, they have a dispensation of $300 per month for long-distance phone calls to Bruce Shelley, who lived interstate and was to be a remote contributor to the game's design.
Around late 1994, before Ensemble started making what would become Age of Empires, they were weighing up two different game ideas. One was a strategy inspired by Civilization, SimCity, and Warcraft; the other was a 3D arcade-style tank game. (The latter also had a working prototype.)
As part of their discussions and planning, lead designer Rick Goodman, who had a background in accounting, drafted up a budget costing based on six different sales scenarios — three for each game. These were realistic numbers, but it's interesting to see them in light of the fact that AoE would actually sell a million-plus copies in its *first year alone*.
As part of their discussions and planning, lead designer Rick Goodman, who had a background in accounting, drafted up a budget costing based on six different sales scenarios — three for each game. These were realistic numbers, but it's interesting to see them in light of the fact that AoE would actually sell a million-plus copies in its *first year alone*.
So in like 10 minutes, my pal Zophar of Zophar’s Domain (@TheRealZophar) has a video going up about the early online video series he worked on in the days of RealPlayer. It was about #Emulation, because of course it was!
I helped script it. I worked on ZD back in the day, 1998 or so. So consider it a professional relationship, continued.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgZfFdPUeAQ
Innocently looking through my music collection, I come to 90s Seattle band The Presidents of the United States of America. Now all I can think and hear is "WATCH HIM JUMP!" And now it's your turn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6c7Fd7D6T8
@metalsnake It's usually referred to as a complete musical phrase like a chorus or hook. I have that happen sometimes too, but I also get these shorter bits that are only a fragment of a phrase — like the example I gave is part of a three-line phrase, but I get obsessed with just the one line.
But maybe it is the same thing and I'm splitting hairs by defining them separately. *shrugs*
But maybe it is the same thing and I'm splitting hairs by defining them separately. *shrugs*