Sweet looking cover art!!
Sweet looking cover art!!
My Gaming Collection (Now at Google Drive!)
I know this may sound like a silly question, but had the ability to play a Mega Drive game with an enhanced Mega CD soundtrack CD ever been done before with any previously released game for the console?
Off the top of my head, I can't recall any Mega Drive carts ever coming with an enhanced CD Rom for the Mega CD which allowed for greater soundtrack during the game. It's always been one or the other (Eg, Puggsy, Eternal Champions, Earthworm Jim II etc) where you either have the game on cart or on CD, never one with the other.
I know there were Mega CD games which were enhanced by the pressence of the 32X unit, but can't think of any which used a cart for the game, and CD for the soundtrack
So in all essence, could this be considered ground-breaking technology for the systems, and a new possibilty beyond what was originally conceived was ever possible?
Also, what limitations are there in regards to the soundtrack minus the Mega CD? If the game is played as a cart-only (Which I imagine is how many people will no doubt be playing it, as I believe not many will have the benefit of having both the Mega Drive and Mega CD), how much does the in-game soundtrack suffer? Are the same tracks used, but less of them? Or are they 16bit-ized versions of the majestic orchestral tracks included on the CD?
PlopThanks for the feedbacks regarding the boxes
There is no megadrive games that use enhanced soundtrack discs. Its really a new feature exclusively developed for Pier Solar ( we had to find a solution to please Megadrive & Megacd owners, please note that our game started as a megacd and not a cartridge one).
Yes, this can be seen as a "ground-breaking technology" because it really add something to the game... It is unknown why Sega never tried to do same previously...
I can't give more details about what it exactly does, that will be a surprise people will see when they receive their copies.
Both soundtracks (disc & cartridge) share the same compositions, and each is optimized regarding the limitations... Don't worry, the cartridge soundtrack is hi quality (we didn't do a disc because we weren't able to do something good with cartridge).
Last edited by fonzie; 12-31-2008 at 10:25 AM.
Weekly update completed and a few new shots are ready for your consumption. Huzzah!
www.piersolar.com
you know, it sure would've been nice if Sega had just done something like this, instead of making so many games for the Sega CD that were basically just the cart game with an enhanced CD soundtrack... it would've saved them and everyone who bought those games a ton of money... I wonder if they could've done something similar with some of their 32X games as well... again they did the same thing with those, they just released a bunch of games that had already been released on Genesis & Sega CD, with no major improvements... so why not just do something like this instead? perhaps if they had followed this route, they might have stayed viable alot longerOriginally Posted by fonzie
Plop
There is no megadrive games that use enhanced soundtrack discs. Its really a new feature exclusively developed for Pier Solar ( we had to find a solution to please Megadrive & Megacd owners, please note that our game started as a megacd and not a cartridge one).
Yes, this can be seen as a "ground-breaking technology" because it really add something to the game... It is unknown why Sega never tried to do same previously...
I can't give more details about what it exactly does, that will be a surprise people will see when they receive their copies.
Both soundtracks (disc & cartridge) share the same compositions, and each is optimized regarding the limitations... Don't worry, the cartridge soundtrack is hi quality (we didn't do a disc because we weren't able to do something good with cartridge).
Bearing in mind it's been more than a decade and the people working on Pier Solar have had all that time to exploit every last little trick that the Mega Drive and Mega Cd has to offer. They also have over a decade of understanding of the hardware under their belt (I would imagine) plus the benefit of various techniques and research which would've previously been pioneered by large corporations and developers - In all essence, most of the hard work has already been done for them and the foundations have already been laid.
I am sure that there's many things that the original Xbox was capable of, but never had chance to explore due to Microsoft wanting to roll out the X360 early. All that potential gone to waste, and the same can be said for the Mega Drive / Mega Cd / 32X ~ I'm sure that if Sega wasn't faced with the impending PlayStation and Ultra 64 threat, they wouldn't have been forced to rush out the Saturn and would've put more time and effort in making the most out of the Mega Cd and 32X hardware
The Pier Solar team have a better understanding of the hardware than would've been available over a decade ago, and as a result they are trying to create what will no doubt be the most visually impressive game on the system to date. If you look at the difference between early titles (Such as OutRun or Hard Drivin') and the other end of the spectrum (Like Virtua Racing) there are obvious differences - Now imagine the same level of advancement between the last few games of the system and what Pier Solar is going to be...
Well, part of what you said is true, other part isn't so to me...
Mainly because PierSolar don't use any SDK/toolsuite/librairies... So it can't take advantages of previous programming knowledge seen in games released prior.
Why this? because of the fallowing points :
- Most games were coded in ASM, with their own optimized routines... And PierSolar is coded in C, with his own optimized routines as well :P
Please note that on a 8mhz cpu, there is no library possible, call a "printf" equivalent to display a score and you drop to 1fps.
- Most games used Sega (or other companies) tools & drivers to make maps / sound, and PierSolar uses custom tools & audio drivers.
- The pixel arts gurus are gone for years... Since we don't rip gfx and want to make an unique atmosphere, we try to make something that look good but it surely take ages compared to the 80-90's dudes could do with their pixel art tools and mad training...
- We don't (didn't) have access many documentation when it comes to complex parts like megacd, BUT, we have great debugging tools (and the hardware is quite simple as well).
...
While the difference between a early and a late ps2 game is obvious and easy to understand, because they used upgraded SDK's and libs...
I don't think the difference between an early and a late md game show great difference (apart from the sound, as the official sega drivers were improved)... its just a matter of MEG power and programmer motivation ^^.
Haha, sorry for this long answerHéhé! I just wanted to say our game isn't based on previous programming work / knowledge because of the reasons pointed out.
...
And for the next gen / xbox... Yeah
Last edited by fonzie; 01-07-2009 at 04:50 PM.
Easy, pre-order. Can't wait.
When people told themselves their past with stories, explained their present with stories, foretold the future with stories. The best place by the fire, was kept for "The Storyteller".
Weekly update completed! Check it out at www.piersolar.com!
Another one for the week of January 20th with a video preview of the game. By... well... not by us. But that just makes it cooler!
www.piersolar.com
Just pre-ordered. I was very, very tempted to get the Japanese style packaging, but decided to go with USA version.
Aargh. How long will the preorder bonus apply? (It might be mentioned earlier, but this thread is getting pretty big.) I'm assuming I'll be safe if I order January 31st...
Looking awesome, though. I'm really looking forward to it. When I first heard about it (when it was still called Tavern RPG), I was intrigued, but wasn't letting my hopes get up that it would actually see release.
Knowledge is Power.
Power corrupts.
Study hard.
Be evil.
Count me along those that were sort of watching development in a lurking sort of way. I see there's a playable demo and I must say I'm going to check it out tonight.
for $35 and a batshit insane amount of extras... plus needing more RPG goodness on my sega... I think I'll end up getting this
-AB+
Holy crap. It's been a while.
Haha, the demo is quite old. It'll give you a sense of how the game is going to play out (at least in the beginning) but the quality of the graphics, interface, writing, and well, everything has improved substantially.Count me along those that were sort of watching development in a lurking sort of way. I see there's a playable demo and I must say I'm going to check it out tonight.
for $35 and a batshit insane amount of extras... plus needing more RPG goodness on my sega... I think I'll end up getting this
Not sure what you mean by pre-order bonus. The posterity package was a preorder/donation deal where for a little extra money your name would be included in the manual and credits. That, unfortunately, is no longer available. You can still pre-order the game though, and all the extra goodies are included in the basic version as well.Aargh. How long will the preorder bonus apply? (It might be mentioned earlier, but this thread is getting pretty big.) I'm assuming I'll be safe if I order January 31st...
Ah, okay. When I first read the order page, I thought it was saying you only get that stuff if you preordered--such as the poster and book. Good to know.Not sure what you mean by pre-order bonus. The posterity package was a preorder/donation deal where for a little extra money your name would be included in the manual and credits. That, unfortunately, is no longer available. You can still pre-order the game though, and all the extra goodies are included in the basic version as well.
Knowledge is Power.
Power corrupts.
Study hard.
Be evil.
Not sure if answered already. How many copies would be produced?
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My Rpg Collection
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We're currently re-evaluating the number of cartridges being produced. Initial demand was higher than we expected (which is awesome news). We'll get back to you when we have an official number.
Also, Tuesday's update is ... up.
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Hey, I just played the demo for this a couple days ago and I loved it, great work guys, I'm really looking forward to the final product when it's released.
I would also like to mention, not to toot my own horn or anything, I wrote a preview article for the game based on the demo version that was released, it's on my gaming blog over at RF Generation and it was recently put on the front page of the site.
finally got around to preordering, looking forward to it! ;p
Wolfrider, I'm curious about the battle system. I recall seeing you or someone else mention that the demo is out of date, and that the battle system has been completely redesigned. How does it work now?
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