Coblyn

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Muryan
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Coblyn

Post by Muryan »

It's been a while since I've released an update to Coblyn, but recently I've been busy rewriting it and there's a beta version (3.0.2) ready for anyone who would like to try it.

One of the big changes is that it's now available for Windows as well as OS X!

Other changes from version 2:
- All new graphics.
- The window can be resized any way you like, and the game scales to fit (it also does full-screen).
- A better user interface.
- Improved some sound effects.
- The built-in level pack has been improved a lot: there are 20 caves with 5 difficulties for a total of 100 levels.
- Added level unlocking. Previously Coblyn started with all levels available, but now you must unlock them (it remembers what you've unlocked). As with BD, you get caves A, E, I, and M to begin with. Just in case you don't feel like unlocking levels the honest way, there's also a cheat code that makes all levels available :wink:. Type "chucknorris" at any time to toggle the cheat mode: when the cheat is active an asterisk will appear in the bottom-left corner of the window, and you'll be able to pick any level you want on the Start screen.
- Smoother animation.
- Support for caves that wrap from side to side or top to bottom.
- Better BDCFF support (though it's still fairly basic).
- Lots of other fixes and enhancements.

All the controls are listed in the Help screen.

You can download the beta here:
- OS X (10.5 or later): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8929082/Coblyn_OSX.zip
- Windows (XP or later): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8929082/Coblyn_Windows.zip

If you want to play the original BD 1 and 2 games with Coblyn, you should grab my versions of them. Unpack the following ZIP and place the level pack files in the same folder as the Coblyn app. You can then select them from the Start screen (via the "..." button next to the level pack name): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8929082/Coblyn_ ... Levels.zip

Any feedback welcome!

PS: I started a new topic rather than posting in the old Coblyn one because it was titled "New clone for MacOS X - Coblyn", and I wanted to make sure people running Windows noticed :).
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CWS
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Post by CWS »

Veeery nice game... :)
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Post by Muryan »

I've got another update already :)

There's a single fix in this release: the Windows version of Coblyn sometimes didn't remember to start in full-screen mode (once you set full-screen mode, it's supposed to stay that way each time you run Coblyn).

The download links in my original post now point to version 3.0.3.
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CWS
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Post by CWS »

I still have some troubles with the Windows version and the full screen mode. Sometimes it does not remember the full screen mode and starts in window mode again. Strange.
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Post by Muryan »

I've got a new test version of Coblyn for you to try (v3.0.4). Hopefully this time I've completely fixed the problem! You can download it here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8929082/Coblyn_Windows.zip

I'd be interested to hear if this works for you. :)
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Post by CWS »

I'll report back soon!

Any news on new graphics for more irregular boulders and adding sparkles or glowing to diamonds?
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Post by CWS »

It seems to work ok now! I started it several times and it always uses fullscreen as set before. I hope it will stay this way!

The only thing I'm really missing to make this clone perfect would be a built-in level editor...
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Post by Muryan »

That's good news! I'll try to put in even more fixing to make sure it keeps working :wink:

Next I'll have a go at adding sparkles to the diamonds and making the boulders look rough.
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Post by Muryan »

I've released a new version of Coblyn with better graphics and a few other improvements. Changes in v3.1.0 are:

- The boulder now looks rough.
- The diamond has some transparency and random sparkles.
- The butterfly is much nicer... it no longer looks like a flying sausage :D
- The Start screen now allows the cave and level to be set by pressing the appropriate letter key (for the cave) or number key (for the level).
- Bonus caves now become selectable on the Start screen once the preceding cave has been completed at all difficulty levels. For example, bonus cave Q appears after D–1 through D–5 have been completed.
- Better BDCFF support.
- Lots of small improvements and fixes.

You can download it from my website (there are also some screenshots): www.muryan.com/coblyn
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Post by CWS »

Wow! I like the new version very much! I think this is the best native Boulder Dash clone for MacOS X! I like to play it very much! :)

Nice improvements - I only have to wait quite looooong for the random sparkles of the diamonds... ;) Nevertheless the effect looks veeery nice! :)

I played some time and I noticed that fireflys and butterflies are caught from others which are turning in circles very easy (happend two times in a row) - I never noticed such behavior in Boulder Dash. But I could have been a rare coincidence...

Do you think it would be possible to just additionally define a directory where the BDCFF games are? I do not want to have them double on my hd - I already installed them in /usr/local/share/gdash/caves from GDash...

If this baby gets a level editor it will be a very self-contained game... :)
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Post by Muryan »

Thanks. I can't make the diamonds sparkle too often, otherwise when you get a lot of them together it looks like fireworks :wink:

If you're playing a BDCFF game then fireflies and butterflies should work exactly like the original Boulder Dash. If you're playing one of my level packs then things work slightly differently.

I'll see if I can add some way of loading games from other directories in the next version (it's been annoying me too...).
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Post by CWS »

The diamonds do not need to sparkle too often - but at the moment sparkling is that rare that I'm lucky to see any, even if the playfield is full of diamonds... ;)

I can't help myself but I think the boulders are a little bit too dark compared to the rest of the graphics. And maybe, just maybe, the would look even better more greyish then brown? Or maybe a combination of both?

It was Boulder Dash 1 (the version you provide on your website) where the strange behavior happened. First a butterfly was turning in circles, then a second one was caught and right after that a third one. So all three butterflys were happily turning around each other and turning and turning... ;) I never saw this in Boulder Dash on C64, didn't I?

By the way: The Windows version crashes when clicking on "Start" in the game. All other buttons like "Options" or "Help" are working, but "Start" only produces a "Coblyn encountered a problem..." dialog box. Last version worked perfectly but 3.1.0 crashes. Running it on WinXP SP3 here.

Edit: I just tried to delete the entry in regedit but as soon as I set the option from window to full screen mode the game crashes the complete system - I even can not turn off the computer anymore (other then pulling the plug)!
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Post by Muryan »

I've got some questions for you which will hopefully sort put the problem. I haven't been able to get it to crash for me, unfortunately. As you've probably figured out, it would be best to stay away from full-screen mode until this crash is sorted out...

- Does 3.0.4 still work OK? (Just to make sure that this isn't triggered by an upgraded video driver, for example). If you don't have 3.0.4 any more you can grab it from here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8929082/Coblyn_Windows_304.zip
- I've got a new version (3.1.1) with as much crash protection as I could think of in the areas that changed between 3.0.4 and 3.1.0. You can get it here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8929082/Coblyn_Windows_311.zip
- If 3.1.1 is still broken but 3.0.4 works, which level pack is currently loaded? If it's not one of mine, please ZIP it up and send it to me, then load the standard level pack, quit 3.0.4, and try running the new version.
- Does resizing the window cause a crash?
- Have you tried removing Coblyn's entire registry section (HKCU/Software/muryan.com/Coblyn)?

Thanks, and sorry for inflicting these crashes on you!
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Post by CWS »

It's interesting - since starting the new version 3.1.0 the previous version does also not work anymore!

I tried to remove the entry with regedit and the game starts with standard settings again but it still crashes as soon as I click on "Start". But it does not crash when clicking on any other menu option.

Resizing the window does not crash it - I can even see the demo running! So I do not think that there is a problem with the graphics driver or any library otherwise the demo would also not run.

I tried version 3.1.0 on Windows 7 Ultimate on Parallels Desktop 7 on my iMac. It works without any problems or crashes. The problem only exists on my Windows XP SP3 computer lately.

It's interesting that I can not remember installing anything system relevant lately. No graphic drivers update, no additional libraries, even no games that copy anything to the Windows directory. I even did not make any Windows update in the mean time (I rarely allow this computer to open internet connections). All other games, as far as I can tell, are working within normal parameters.

When the crash occurs, Windows reports: "AppName: coblyn.exe, AppVer: 3.1.0.1, ModName: atioglx2.dll, ModVer: 8.15.15.8000, Offset: 0037ad4a". If you can tell me how to copy the crash report I can send it to you if you like.

I also tried compatibility settings but this makes no difference. I also tried to copy the exe file to desktop to have no interfering other files but this does also make no difference.
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Post by Muryan »

The crash is inside ATI's OpenGL driver. Would you be able to check if there's a newer driver available for your video card?
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