Kailef
BETA MANAGER 
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427 
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Dec 20, 2015 16:52:22 GMT
We're ready, I guarantee it.
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Jake
Administrator 
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Dec 28, 2015 4:55:50 GMT
lol I bet ya are! We're trying to get this thing done!
We're still working on some bugs and issues, and I'm continuing to work on the dialogue conversation segments. For some conversation events (like the initial greeting at a bar or from a beggar) there are between 100-150 possible statements the NPC could make, so you literally won't know what the guy is going to say next. It may take a LONG time of playing to get through all the possible statements, keeping the conversations fresh. I'm also still working on the documentation for the game - a crucial part of the Beta process.
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Jake
Administrator
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Jan 7, 2016 22:17:33 GMT
Ok, I am wrapping up the dialogue writing. This turned into a much larger monster than I originally anticipated, mostly because I LOVE to keep pecking away at things. My original goal of adding a few lines of dialogue here and there exploded into approximately 183 pages of dialogue (at a very small 8 point font too!)
I have not counted the exact number of lines I wrote (partly because the dialogue is mingled into parsing structure and spread across 13 individual documents), but a conservative estimate is approximately 7,400 lines. Yeah... that's a lot! The original game probably had 150, tops. The result of my overdoing it means that you won't see the same conversation segment twice for awhile! I mingled some humor into it, cultural references (specifically from sci-fi references), random things from my own life and twisted imagination, and a kitchen sink.
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jd
Beta Tester 
Posts: 41
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple ][E
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1989
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Post by jd on Jan 11, 2016 1:52:18 GMT
Set the dialog up to use an XML file and pull it from a website so it can be updated and stay "fresh"
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Post by Kenster on Jan 11, 2016 8:37:49 GMT
Please don't take away the scanner! Leave it in early as in the original game and let the players make the choice at how they want to play and just make it clear that there are more interesting ways to get around!
I've been waiting to play the game again for 30 years! Could never get an emulator to work on my pc these days. So grateful to you all for doing this project of love. This game was ahead of its time and still sets the standard for open world sandbox for sure!
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TecknoSarah
Beta Tester
Simply charmed to see my name in the Former Project Members and Contributers section of the credits
Posts: 27
Home Planet: Shoot
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari 1040 ST and later on emulator.
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1986
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Post by TecknoSarah on Feb 1, 2016 17:58:33 GMT
I've been looking forward to this, since I first joined the Sourceforge group in the early 2000s. I had no idea how many iterations it would have to undergo to reach this point but it seems like my dream is finally coming true. (I still have the original box-art scans saved on by back up drive!)
I will be checking back regularly. Cheers!
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Feb 1, 2016 21:29:49 GMT
I know just how you feel. I've been waiting for this for years! From what Jake says, the game is essentially playable besides having to iron out some known bugs. I'm really excited - It won't be long, now.
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Post by Symoon on Feb 2, 2016 7:24:51 GMT
Beware that hunting / fixing / testing the final bugs without breaking anything else is sometimes the longest part of a project  |
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TecknoSarah
Beta Tester
Simply charmed to see my name in the Former Project Members and Contributers section of the credits
Posts: 27
Home Planet: Shoot
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari 1040 ST and later on emulator.
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1986
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Post by TecknoSarah on Feb 2, 2016 20:05:36 GMT
In my own experience I have noted this as well. I have, on occasion been asked to add 1 simple feature or function, only to discover several versions later that the 'simple feature' is the root cause of all the problems we've been having since. Sometimes going so far as to build an entire separate handler for the 'feature', just so I can revert to an earlier build has solved everything.
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Jake
Administrator
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Feb 4, 2016 18:50:07 GMT
OK, hi folks! Time for a quick update!
I just got the latest version, which includes approximately 8,000 new lines of NPC dialogue, new sound effects, database tweaks, lots of bug fixes, and a prototype of a street combat system that was suggested by Bruce Webster. It allows the player the option to either shoot it out with street thugs in the same style as the original, or you can put your character in one of two "auto-pilot" modes - aggressive or defensive, and let the fight unfold.
Also, in other news, you might have noticed that the game's prototype cover art was taken down a few weeks back. While Wayne Holder, the copyright owner of the FTL games, gave Bruce Webster permission to start the Sundog Resurrection Project to remake this game, the California painter who created the original cover artwork, David Darrow, refused to grant us permission to use his original cover as the basis for that recreated cover (or in legal terms, a derivative work). This is his prerogative - he had nothing to do with the Sundog Resurrection project and he does retain the intellectual rights to his artwork, which he fiercely guards. Thus, we will be creating new cover art and for now the game's manual will have a black cover, reminiscent of the censored album cover in the movie Spinal Tap. "It's like, 'how much more black could this be?' And the answer is 'None. None more black.'"
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TecknoSarah
Beta Tester
Simply charmed to see my name in the Former Project Members and Contributers section of the credits
Posts: 27
Home Planet: Shoot
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari 1040 ST and later on emulator.
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1986
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Post by TecknoSarah on Feb 5, 2016 4:44:37 GMT
Prototype cover art?
I might have missed that one, do you mean the new game splash screen with the ship being fired on, or something else? If you had to take it down, can you PM me the reference material? I have all the original box and manual art and have access to an interested artist who may be able to provide alternative art, if it comes to that. Please let me know.
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Feb 5, 2016 4:56:25 GMT
That's pretty annoying, right there. It's a shame, you'd think that Mr. Darrow would appreciate the publicity.
I am acquaintances with an icon of 80's era video game art, none other than the fellow who did almost all of the Ultima covers, Denis Loubet. If you are interested, I could ask him if he might want to contribute some cover art. Might add a bit of wow factor to the game to have the art done by a celebrity like that. Let me know.
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Jake
Administrator
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Feb 6, 2016 18:28:13 GMT
Well, having an accomplished artist do cover art WOULD be pretty sweet, so long as the cover art does not replicate elements from Mr. Darrow's work. The image in question was the game cover with the cryogen chamber, the pirate ship shooting at Sundog, Zed's head, and Zed haggling with a robot at a bar table.
Kailef - That sounds good! See if Mr. Loubet is interested in doing a cover art for the project. If he's too busy or whatever, that's fine. No pressure. If he is interested, I can provide images and files containing the logo art and such for him to work from.
Tecknomykle - If Mr. Loubet cannot provide art, I'd be very interested to see if your man can help out. I'll send over the link for the artwork via message through this board.
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Feb 7, 2016 2:41:38 GMT
Okay, I contacted Mr. Loubet and let him know. He said that he would take a look and get back to me. Do note that I can't make any promises that he'll want to participate. I only met him once (which was an awesome experience) but I don't have any particular influence over his decisions, I'm just a supporter of his work over at his Patreon account. (Which, by the way, is pretty awesome. If you have a few bucks a month to spare and you enjoy sci-fi and fantasy art, you'll really enjoy being his Patron. Plus, who doesn't want to support the guy who did all this awesome stuff?) In any case, when/if I hear back from him, I'll let you know, and you can work out the particulars. |
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Jake
Administrator
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Feb 9, 2016 3:53:14 GMT
Yeah totally understand! Thanks man - let me know. No pressure on your or his part to do anything. This is something that is lower on the priority list anyway, as it can wait for completion until later. The game manual will work just fine during the Beta phase without nifty cover art. :-)
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