Cavern Duel
Cavern Duel is a two player maze game for RISC OS.
24th Feb 2009 - Regular readers of Drobe will have been sad to hear of Paul Vigay's death. I had been in sporadic contact with Paul, regarding the upgrading of the game to full 32-bit compatibility. He offered me some useful advice in his free time, and for that, I was, and am, eternally grateful.
Many people, within and outside of RISC OS, have written messages of condolence, he had a very wide circle of friends from his work in crop circle research and privacy campaigning. He and his partner Louie Smith worked tirelessly on RISC OS Now over the past few years. It is very sad news indeed. Rest in peace Paul, and my condolences to Louie and his family.
I'll be going through his correspondence and taking stock of his advice, as to how to proceed, and will make a further update in due course. I have been awfully busy with my paid work, and toddler duty at home, but I will come up with something in good time.
31st Oct 2008 - Oh dear, nearly a year has shot by. Lack of time and lack of feedback have both contributed to the lack of updates. I am still hopeful that I will get round to fully 32-bitting the game.
16th Nov 2007 - Version 1.25 is now available for download. The following issues have been addressed, in response to recent postings on the csa.games newsgroup:
- The sound modules used in the game have now been converted to 26/32-bit neutral versions.
The game should now work on the Iyonix, and on forthcoming 32-bit editions of RISC OS (the rest of the game is written in BASIC, so should be 32-bit safe).The game, as it currently stands, does not work on RISC OS 5, without the use of Aemulor or Aemulor Pro. I am in discussion with a small group of Iyonix users on getting the game to work on their systems, and with it, potential compatibility on RISC OS 6. In the meantime, the game must be played via emulation on later systems. Apologies for the inconvenience. - Minor typo error concerning linking to the DrWimp library now addressed.
- Further refinement of obey files concerning removal of sound modules upon quitting the game.
V1.25 (188k, 12th Nov 2007)
Cavern Duel puts yourself and your opponent within a complex labryinth of cave tunnels. The objective is simple - to find and kill your opponent, before he or she does!
The game is played using a split screen, showing overhead views of yourself and your opponent roaming about the maze, collecting food, weaponry and armour. Collecting such items improves your chances when you finally engage in battle.
Your health and armour are indicated by vertical bars to the right of the play area. Your current weapon is shown above your health and armour indicators.
Some of the weapons you come across within the maze are better than others. Potion bottles are also in abundance. Some however, have undesirable effects, such as reducing your health, which won't be helpful after you've barely escaped with your life just moments before.
Features
- Two player split screen
- Keyboard controls
- Various kinds of weaponry
- Good (or bad) potions to help (or hinder) you
- Several differently designed levels to choose from
- In-game settings allow for easier or harder game
Compatibility
The game certainly runs fine on RISC OS 3.5 to 4.02, but may be slow on RISC OS 2 machines. RISC OS 5 users will require Aemulor or Aemulor Pro in order to run it. Virtual Acorn users will be able to run the game as well on their Windows or Macintosh systems.
Create your own caves
A fully multi-tasking level editor is included, enabling you to create and edit your own levels! Some example files are included to start you off, along with full instructions.
Although the editor works under RISC OS 4.02, do ensure you are in a high-resolution screen mode, as the windows appear too high up on anything less. This is something I'll deal with as soon as I have the time.
Future Improvements
The game is rather dated now, but it's still worth a few hours good fun with your mates! I'm hoping to support it (sporadically) over the years. Here are some of the changes I have in mind, in no particular order of importance:
- Using Dr Wimp for !CavernEd (this will take some time, but will result in a more easy to use editor for everyone)
- Get the game running on all versions of RISC OS, particularly RISC OS 5 and 6.
- Add a small map for each player, which updates as to their position within the cavern. This was a feature suggested by someone ages ago, so I can't take the credit for that one.
- Improve the graphics. Even with 256 colours, the game looks rather 8-bit.
- Improve code. The game is written in Basic, which proves too much for older machines. Andy Southgate's Gamesuite is a likely candidate for improving the code.
- Change layout/enlarge game graphics. Rather than top to bottom, position the players left to right, and double the height of the sprites.
- V1.25 (188k, 12th Nov 2007)