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News December 2000 -New version of SonicX-treme released- |
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After 6 months of development, SonicX-treme Version 7 has been released. It has many new features, but the most impressive has to be the "loop the loop" collision detection function. It came off pretty well. I also added an updraft effect function and a horizontal wall feature. Now I'm sure many of you would be happy with those, but SonicX now has a new absolutely god damn awesome feature. It has a qbasic interpreter built into it. So while your playing SonicX, you can have a program execute in the background that enhances the game. For example, one of the programs that i have included with the sonicxv7 zip file, mousecon.txt, allows you to control the sonic sprite using the mouse, a feature that is not included in the SonicX game itself. Anyway, its a must download. Download sonic X Version 7 here -Links page updated- I have added some new qbasic sites to the links page. News August 2000 -Policy on reviews- Qbasic central will now begin accepting reader reviews for qbasic games. Note that I will not accept submissions from authors who are reviewing their own games. Submission for reader reviews should include a text or html file, a picture or 2 (in JPEG format), and the address of the file being reviewed. Send the files (not the game) to J.B at prodigy_2000@start.com.au .I will also review some games that are explicitly requested by readers. Your game will be reviewed if it is high quality (In the league of SonicX-treme), but source code must be included. Send your request, including a hyperlink pointing to the game, to J.B at prodigy_2000@start.com.au .-New Sonic-Xtreme levels.- A number of new entries have been made to the SonicX(treme) levels page. The three levels added were all made by crossleo. The first level, city2, is an updated version of city, and is a huge improvement over the original. The second level, the Trees, has sonic running through a forest, and consequently is a highly original level. Easily the best level though, is megaman which is based on the old nes favourite and has a very nice set up. Well done crossleo.- Links page updated- I have added some new sites and reorganized it to make it a tad more aesthetically pleasing..
News June 10th 2000 -New Sonic-Xtreme levels.- Three more levels have been added to the SonicX(treme) levels page. Once again, all of the levels have been submitted by SonicX users and they are all of a very high quality. The levels are green hill zone(which looks amazing, exactly like the green hill zone on Mega drive), Lennon ( a tribute to john lennon) and highup zone (which is pretty good). You can get the levels here, or by following the link on SonicXtreme page. If you have a level that you want on this site then email me at prodigy_2000@start.com.auNews may 28th 2000 New Sonic-Xtreme levels. Another four levels have been added to the SonicX(treme) levels page. All of the levels have been submitted by SonicX users. The levels are Psychic zone, Highspeed, City and Cascade. You can get the levels here, or by following the link on SonicXtreme page. If you have a level that you want on this site then email me at prodigy_2000@start.com.auThe links section has been updated I have added a new link to the links page. News May 19th 2000 New Sonic-Xtreme levels. I have added four more levels to the SonicX(treme) levels page. One of the levels was an updated version of icecap zone (when i say updated I mean its 20 times the size of the original) and it rocks. Another level was inspired by the green hill zone in the Mega drive sonic game. The other 2 levels, pitfall and marble are slightly updated version of the levels that were included in previous version of sonicX-treme, but they are still pretty good. You can get the levels here, or by following the link on SonicXtreme page. If you have a level that you want on this site then email me at prodigy_2000@start.com.auThe links section has been updated I have redone the links page. When I linked to www.qb45.com, I forgot to add the hyperlink. Qb45.com is the best qb site on the net at the moment, so go visit it at the links section. I also added a link to butchernet. Butchernet is a repository of butcherisms, a humorous selection of quotes from a teacher at my old school.News May 2nd 2000 Design changes I changed the design of the site to make it more navigator friendly. My apologies if you have not yet heard of a frame tolerant browser, but it's your own fault for not installing one. New level for SonicX-treme I made a new level based on the level of Alex Kidd in miracle world on master system. It will only work right with the new version 6 of SonicXtreme, so you had better download that as well. You can download the level here . By the way, I will upload any user made levels onto this site. If you want to have heaps of people playing your level, then send it to me via email at prodigy_2000@start.com.auThe links section has been updated I removed one link and added a link to www.qb45.comNews April 30th 2000 Sonic X-treme is up to version 6
I have finished a new version of sonic-Xtreme. Making use of the recently retired directqb library, it features 256 colours and a huge speed increase. I have spruced up every bit of the game that i could think of. There is a new character sprite engine which features over 75 frames of animation. It look the same as sonic on the megadrive, I kid you not. I also added a front end GUI to the game and to the utilities. It has never been easier to make a texture file using tileditg, and tilemapg is working really well. You have to download it right away. It's the culmination of what i hoped the SonicX-treme project would be. Leave messages related to this release in the qbasic central messageboard. Download sonic X Version 6 here
News February 14th 2000 Qbasic central now has a message board Wow, 2 updates in 2 days. I have added a message board. Leave messages in it about qbasic related stuff.
News February 12th 2000 SonicX(treme) now uses directqb. SonicX(treme) is getting better and better. I found the directqb library somewhere on the net, and it speeds up QuickBasic program like a video accelerator. It allows you to use ems memory and it has really fast keyboard and joystick routines. Most importantly, it allows for page flipping with 256 colors. I will make a new section devoted to QuickBasic libraries soon. I haven't finished the level editor for direct qb yet, so i won't upload the new version of sonic. If you really want to have a go at sonic with 256 colors, email me and i will send u a copy. Otherwise, you will just have to wait. I have updated the links section. I have added a link to this really good music site called "There is no reality, only perception". It has a lot of info on a lot of the cooler acts out there (ie; no spice girls or boyzone shit). So visit the site and leave a message in the guestbook. You can get to the links site here .News January 10th 2000 SonicX(treme) is now up to version 5.1
I've finished the new version of sonic X-treme, and i have implemented collision detection. When the sprite runs past a spring, the sprite super jumps. When the sprite runs past a ring, it collects it and adds the ring to the ring tally, exactly the way it did in the original sonic the hedgehog game. I have also added the score:time:ring counter from the original game and it works exactly the same. To pull this off, i had to write a sub which converted an integer variable into a string variable. This is in the code if you want to know how to do it yourself. Download sonic X Version 5.1 here I have updated the links section It appears that there are many of you who want to find quick basic 4.5 and visual basic 1. I have added links to some sites which offer this. Also, i have added some high quality qbasic sites. From now on, if you want me to link to your site, it has to be a really top class one that is updated at least every 2 months. You can find the links section here
News November 12th 1999 SonicX(treme) is now up to version 5
I've finished a new version of Sonic X(treme) and it is quite a revolutionary advance for qbasic programming. It now features an algorithm which allows for unlimited textures to be used. Additionally it features animations of the objects used in "sonic the hedgehog" on genesis (Mega drive). These are recreated to exact detail. An excellent example of the objects is the inclusion of rings. These rings rotate in exactly the same way as they did in the original version. From a programming perspective, the source code is much cleaner and more efficient and reflects quite substantially on the improvement of this SonicX V5 when compared to V 2.3. The only problem with this release is that I haven't added collision detection to objects. Thus you can see rings, but not take them. This will be fixed in the next release. I would like to here your comments, good or bad, on this version, especially regarding its implications for game development in qbasic. You can download SonicX(treme)V5 here
News September 19th 1999 Just some news to let you know that the page is still being updated. I have finished a new graphics engine for SonicX(treme) that allows for a virtually unlimited number of tiles to be used. This engine has also reduced the size of the code by around a quarter which means that I now have enough program memory to add some new features. The features that I am working on are objects such as monitors containing lives, running shoes etc., rings and most importantly, a level end sign post. If you think that there is something else that I should add, please email me and I'll take it into consideration. News June 22nd 1999 SonicX(treme) is now up to version 2.3 This version includes a number of changes , but is still 100% compatible with previous level files. The main update in this version is that the frame rate has been restricted to 20 frames per second. I did this for one reason. It is now the norm for people to have 300 Hz computers. While this is good for windows applications, it makes dos programs too fast to use. When the frame rate is set at 20 frames a second, SonicX runs at it's optimum. New SonicX levels - I have added two more levels to the SonicX(treme) levels page. One level ,Metal, was sent in by David Llewellyn. It is pretty good with some nice artwork and stuff. The other level I added was one of my own, 3d, which takes on an isometric 3d perspective. You should check them out in the SonicX(treme) section.Source Code Updated - The source code to SonicX(treme) has been updated and now the source code to Tilemapd and Tileedit is available.I would really appreciate it if anyone who downloads the new version of SonicX(treme) could email me the frame rate that they got using the new sonicx.exe file, and the speed of their computer in Hz. News May 2nd 1999 SonicX(treme) is now up to version 2.2 This version includes a number of changes , but is 100% compatible with previous level files. Speed increase- The previous versions drew everything in the level in each cycle. This version only draws what is actually on the screen This has resulted in an up to 50% speed increase. Mega CD Mode- I have also included a new camera mode , Mega CD mode. This is the default mode (although it can be changed to Megadrive mode by pressing F4) and draws the levels in the same way that Sonic CD on the Mega CD did, i.e. when sonic is running ,the sprite moves away from the centre so that you can see more of the level. In the Megadrive mode , the sonic sprite is always centered horizontally although it can move vertically when you jump. Just keep on pressing F4 to switch modes. Joystick support- Once you have started your game , press F3 to initialize your joystick or gamepad.2 of the buttons will be jump , the stick or dpad will allow you to move. Please note that using the joystick mode slows the game down considerably. If anyone knows of some fast joystick routines , could you please email me. Better collision detection- This has much better collision detection then the previous versions. Spike mode detection now works amazingly well now. Looking for Links I am starting a new links page. If you would like me to link to your page , email me your URL with a short description of your site .Levels update I have added 3 new sonic X(treme) levels to the SonicX(treme) section. One level , by Obiwan (that's what he wanted to be known as) is an exact replica of the first level in Super Mario Brothers. It looks pretty cool coz you can see how big Sonic is compared to Mario. I have made 2 more levels , Space3.lvl , an extension to space2 which is now really huge and maze.lvl , a level of a maze. Continue to email me your levels. The best levels will be included in the finished game. The Super Mario Brothers level really shows off the power of the level editor. News April 6th 1999 New Site Design I've started a new SonicX(treme) page to aid development of SonicX levels. I have received a few letters from people who weren't sure about how to implement collision detection in their levels. Although this can be done using the zero gradient mode ,gradient mode or wall mode , the text file I included in the SonicX(treme) package doesn't explain this clearly. The SonicX(treme) page explains this in some detail. I have also redesigned the page. The old design was crap. I look forward to any comments I receive about the changes I have made. If you have any questions about SonicX(treme) then feel free to email me. News March 20th 1999 Sonic X(treme) is updated to version 2.1 This update basically adds drag and drop file capability to sonicx.exe ,tileedit.exe and tilemapc.exe . For instance, to run a level in sonicx.exe , all you have to do now is drag the level file icon on to the sonicx.exe icon. In dos , let's say the level is space2.lvl , all you have to do is type "sonicx.exe space2.lvl". Please note that with the qbasic source code , command$ doesn't work in qbasic so don't need to change it. You can download sonicX.zip v2.1 in the download section. I have also posted some new levels I have made . Click on "Levels for SonicX(treme)" in the download section. And remember , keep sending in those levels. I will post any ones I receive. I have also added a new program from queso54. It's a text adventure with no graphics that should appeal to you hardcore qbasic rpg nuts. Get it at the download section.
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