Do you need the lower line stored in PLCK caves?

LogicDeLuxe · Post by **LogicDeLuxe** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:39 pm

Sure this would be merely a cosmetic change, since that line isn't scanned at all. But still, look at Sendy Dash 2 and 3. Some caves virtually cry out "give me a bottom line!".

I thought about it. Since the first 20 bytes aren't used in the cave file, I could perfectly save the bottom line there. This addition would be even compatible to existing tools and engines, except they would ignore the extra line, of course.

I might write a patch for the Effect Kit and update the Deluxepacker accordingly.

CWS · Post by **CWS** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:05 pm

Yes, let's save the lower line!

LogicDeLuxe · Post by **LogicDeLuxe** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:13 am

Here it is: http://www.gratissaugen.de/erbsen/dlp155.zip

You need to patch the Effect Kit (which is not included for legal reasons).
Run the Effect Kit, do a soft reset on the C64 and then run "SAVE LOWEST LINE". Follow the instructions on screen.

The Deluxepacker works as usual.

CWS · Post by **CWS** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 9:14 am

Wow! Thank you!

I usually use CLCK 3.0 for new Dashes (there is one in development) but it's good to have the new DeLuxePacker!

Is it wise to store a copy of the old dlp 1.5 or is the latest version as compatible as the older version (I mean without patching anything)?

LogicDeLuxe · Post by **LogicDeLuxe** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:54 am

CWS wrote:Is it wise to store a copy of the old dlp 1.5 or is the latest version as compatible as the older version (I mean without patching anything)?

I left version 1.51 online, just in case. The older versions will be sorted in the "old tools"-archive eventually.

Eventhough 1.55 should be compatible since any PLCK and their hacks save Steelwalls in the unused extra line, which the new engine copies to the bottom line instead of filling it up with Steelwalls. So with any unmessed PLCK cave, you won't notice a difference.

However, there are some rare instances in which caves contain random data in that extra line, which would appear at the bottom although it wasn't the cave author's intention. I have no clue why those caves exist. Probably some 3rd party tools for altering the caves. There were some basic editors before the Effect Kit enabling editing border placements, Amoeba and Slime simultaneously and multiple Rockfords. I didn't check them as they really are obsolete since the Effect Kit.

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Sat May 17, 2008 7:03 pm

Ooh, this calls for a rerelease of the SendyDash series, thanks LogicDeLuxe for noticing this and fixing it. I've wanted to do a new edition of these because of minor changes for example SD1 is way too hard in places and has some mean time limits and not enough margin for error.

Does anybody know where the program for converting a compiled game into individual caves is? I've seen it somewhere but can't place it.

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Sat May 17, 2008 7:24 pm

Hmm, on further inspection, I'm stuck at the "follow the instructions onscreen" step since I don't know much about crunchers

LogicDeLuxe · Post by **LogicDeLuxe** » Sat May 17, 2008 7:45 pm

Sendy wrote:Does anybody know where the program for converting a compiled game into individual caves is? I've seen it somewhere but can't place it.

It is called "cavesaver v2" and can be found in my tools archive in MISC1.D64: http://www.gratissaugen.de/erbsen/TOOLS.ZIP

Sendy wrote:Hmm, on further inspection, I'm stuck at the "follow the instructions onscreen" step since I don't know much about crunchers

What exactly do you need to know? You managed to pack your sendy games with some cruncher. Eventhough it wasn't exactly a very efficient one, it worked.
One example of using fast cruel can be seen in my CLCK tutorial video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzcfnEmrUj4

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:43 pm

Sorry, another question

Would a magic wall work on the lower border in the game once it's compiled? It works fine playtesting in the editor.

LogicDeLuxe · Post by **LogicDeLuxe** » Wed May 21, 2008 7:54 am

Sendy wrote:Would a magic wall work on the lower border in the game once it's compiled? It works fine playtesting in the editor.

It's not exactly tested, though since it is the same engine, I don't see a reason not to. Boulders and Diamonds dropped into it should disappear, doing so will activate it, and the ringing sound should be there as well.

subotai · Post by **subotai** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:43 pm

Hi,

do you know any game that uses this feature? I couldn't find any.