02/06/2010 The long awaited update to RetroVaders for Windows is now available for download. 1.35 brings fixes that should make the game playable on Windows 7 / Vista. MSI installer package available on the downloads page.
12/08/2009 Announcing "Chaos
Caverns 2". Follow the games progress at the development
diary on my blog, or via FaceBook.
16/06/2009 Batty Junior 0.59 is
now available for Windows, Linux and MacOS X.
10/04/2009 I'm holding off
making another release of Batty Junior until the game is a little
further along (I want to
get either the gravity warp or one of the
multi-player modes working first).
BUT. . .
If you do want to play the current version of the game then
go here and follow the links for the 0.59 pre-release Windows /
Linux version. Just remember that the game is still being
developed and some things are still being tweaked.
Update: The
beta has been updated to include the two player alternating mode.
Update 2: As
the beta has been successfully tested I've changed the download links
to point to it. Currently only Windows and Linux have been
updated, MacOS X to follow.
05/04/2009 The countdown has
started for the next release of Batty Junior. I've made some more
bug-fixes, added some more polish and what is hopefully a completely
unique power-up (sort of. . .). I'm in the process of testing the
game before releasing it. I'm expecting to release the game next
weekend (all being even).
18/03/2009 Things are still
moving forwards for the next release of Batty Junior. I've still
got another five levels to design before I'll start thinking about
letting it loose The level count is now up to 29 (from the
original 15). I've also hacked the code around a bit which
has resulted in some very nice speed-ups.
In other news: KrazyPengwin has made a rather nice version of the old
classic Mr Wimpy - a game I've always been rather fond of. The
game is available from
his development blog for Windows and MacOS X. So why am I
mentioning this? Well, I've recompiled the game for Linux and
that will be shortly be available from his site too.
09/03/2009 Work on the updated
Batty Junior is progressing well. I've fixed a long-standing bug
whereby the gun power-up could destroy the indestructible blocks, and
have added in a feature that had been planned for quite a while -
multiple routes through the game. Once you've cleared a level,
taking the left exit takes you to an easier version of the level
(usually. . .).
08/03/2009 Hello, and welcome to
Dan's Remakes. Regular visitors may have noticed the near total
lack of activity on the site recently. Why? Quite simply
the arrival of baby #3 has meant that time for programming has been
scarce to say the least.
Does that mean that the site is dead? No. I'm going to have
to get things going again on a few fronts. First I've got some
work left to do on some of the existing games, Batty Junior
especially. Second, the website is in need of an overhaul (fix
broken links and so forth).
To get the ball rolling, a new version of Batty Junior will be coming
soon. I've already added in one of the most requested features
(high score saving) and am looking through to see what other
improvements I can add before pushing it out the door.
I've also got an updated version of Chaos Caverns sitting here, again
I'll be looking to polish some rough edges before releasing it.
09/06/2008 RetroVaders 1.33 for
Linux is available for download, Windows and MacOS versions to follow.
09/06/2008 RetroVaders goes GPL.
Yes folks, you heard it right. RetroVaders has been relicensed as
GPL v2 and the sourcecode is now available for download at the usual place.
The version of the code available for download is the currently
unreleased version 1.33. This includes code cleanups and a couple
of bug fixes. The "volumes" BlitxMax module (download it here)
is also required to compile the game.
29/05/2008 Update time #3
RetroVaders
has been updated to 1.32. This adds the separate parameters for
OpenGL and DirectX, a nice installer, and configuration files saved
into the home directory / user profile.
Now for something a bit meatier. Batty
Junior has moved on to Demo 2, and, as well as having the above
updates, has been upgraded with 15 (count-em!) levels, updated
graphics, more sound and various other tweaks.
28/05/2008 Update time #2
Arcadia has
been updated to 0.4. This brings a couple of changes from the
last one, such as separate DirectX and OpenGL modes for Windows, a
greatly reduced file size, separate downloads for Windows, Linux and
MacOS, a proper installer for Windows and various bugfixes (such as
deadzone support for analogue joypads, fixes to the sound code and
other code cleanups).
There's also an updated icon for the MacOS version. ;-)
26/05/2008 Update time.
RetroRoids
has been updated to 1.21. This is a maintenance release, but it
adds some nice touches - such as saving the configuration files into
the current users home directory / user profile. The Windows version
now accepts parameters (/DX for
DirectX mode, /GL for OpenGL)
and is available as a Windows Installer (.MSI) package, with separate
shortcuts for the DirectX and OpenGL modes.
I'll be updating the
Windows versions of the games to incorporate the
combined DirectX / OpenGL code (with parameters) and releasing them all
as .MSI packages.
As promised (although later than originally intended) the MacOS X
release of the Cavern Lander
tech demo is now available.
30/04/2008 We've just been
awarded the "100% Clean" award for all my games by those nice people at
Softpedia. I'll be updating the site entries to reflect this.
24/03/2008 I've uploaded a "tech
demo" release of Cavern Lander
for Linux and Windows. This is
just a sneak preview of something that eventually should become a full
game. Get it from here.
As a side note there will be a MacOS X version of the demo later,
unfortunately I don't have access to a Mac right now to compile it.
16/03/2008 I've made some (small) changes to RetroVaders,
namely adding the joypad deadzone fix from RetroRoids, and
changing the internal GFX and SFX formats to PNG and OGG. This
has reduced the filesize of the game quite dramatically (down from 1.9
meg to just over 800k for the Linux version). Download it at the usual place.
19/02/2008 We've been Stumbled!
So welcome to all of you from StumbledUpon.
If you want to get straight to the games then either click on the downloads link, or use the quick links above.
For those of you would like a quick intro to the games then:
Arcadia. - An 80s style
shoot-em-up. Destroy waves of baddies before the level timer runs
out. Batty Junior. - An updated
breakout style game, with power-ups. Similar to Arkanoid. Chaos Caverns. - My tribute to
Manic Miner. A mix of original and all-new levels. RetroRoids. - An updated version
of Asteroids, with enhanced graphics, power ups and more. Also
contains an "Original" mode which is more like the arcade original. RetroVaders. - Its Space
Invaders. What more needs to be said? OK, it has multiple
backdrops, sprite sets (including an Atari 26000 mode) and more.
17/02/2008 Dan's Remakes February Update. First
things first, RetroRoids has
been updated to 1.20. This will probably
be the final release of the game. It was partly a bugfix release,
adding things like a joypad deadzone to allow XBox 360 controllers to
work with the game, and partly a release to add the final "polish" to
the game.
06/02/2008 RetroRoids has been updated to
version1.20 for Linux, Windows and MacOS X. This ads some tweaks
- such as
graphics driver switching for Windows (between DirectX and OpenGL),
much smaller file size (down from 2.6 meg to just over 700k on Linux)
and joypad deadzone added (which hopefully will make using an XBox 360
controller easier).
03/02/2008 This is unexpected -
but there is an update of Chaos
Caverns! OK, nothing to get too excited about, this
version just adds a DirectX version of the game (for those of you
having problems with the OpenGL one). Many thanks to Karina for
bug reports and beta testing the new version.
01/02/2008 OK, so it wasn't
ready last night, but now RetroRoids 1.10 for MacOS X is
available for your downloading pleasure.
31/01/2008 RetroRoids 1.10 (codename: RetroRoids Deluxe)
is now available for Linux and Windows. The
MacOS version will be ready later on tonight.
21/01/2008 The MacOS version of RetroRoids is
ready for download. Sorry for the delay in getting
it online, but seeing as I don't actually own a Mac it means me
borrowing time on someone elses machine.
19/01/2008 The downloads page has been
updated with links for RetroRoids.
18/01/2008 Here it is - RetroRoids,
version 1.00.
Download
for Windows Download
for Linux
I'll
be updating the downloads page tomorrow (and getting the MacOS
version ready for Monday). More later!
11/01/2008 Coming soon: another
game! Yes, a new remake is on the way. This will initially
be announced on the mailing list, so sign up if you want to be the
first to get your hands on it (hint: it's another arcade machine
remake).
07/01/2008 Batty Junior - Demo 1 has
been updated to Demo 1b. This adds in difficulty levels and the
missing "gun" power up. Get it at the downloads page.
02/01/2008 We've moved! Yes
folks, we've upped sticks and headed over to Google's green and
pleasant land! Something to do with us nearly filling our 55meg
of webspace at our old site. Google Pages slightly larger 100meg
should give us some breathing space for a bit.
Found some broken links? Let us know.
Big Fat
Warning time!
This is a beta version of Dan's Remakes site and isn't guaranteed to be
complete.
31/12/2007 Batty Junior - Demo 1 is
now available for
download (again - from this page only at the moment) from the downloads page.
Most
of the power-ups from the
original are now in place (only the gun
remains to be done). The gravity distort is disabled in this demo
- but will be there for the next one.
I've also started a Dan's Remakes mailing list, so if you want to be
notified of my next update then please sign up (at the top of this page
folks!).
30/12/2007 Well, this about wraps
things up for 2007. I'd like to thank everyone who has downloaded
my games this year, and to everyone who has left comments (via happypenguin or retro remakes).
Things have been going well on Batty
Junior. I'm not finished
yet, but the single-player part is nearly done. I'll be releasing
an updated (non Christmas themed) demo soon (hopefully tomorrow but
don't hold me to it).
15/12/2007 Seeing as there have been
quite a few MacOS users dropping by over the last few days I've managed
to sneak onto a Mac and get the MacOS version of Batty Christmas
compiled.
I'm going to have to sort out a proper download page for this, but in
the meantime:
14/12/2007 Don't worry - MacOS X users
aren't going to be left out in the cold this Christmas - there will be
a port of Batty Christmas
coming your way soon (hopefully Monday if all
goes well).
09/12/2007 Well, I was originally
going to wait until all the main features were complete before
releasing anything (at least all the single-player stuff), but I
suddenly came over all seasonal and knocked together a Christmas themed
demo of Batty Junior. So
here we have Batty Christmas!
07/12/2007 Update time again
folks! Just to prove that Batty
Junior isn't just hot air and
screenshots you can click below to see a sneak preview of the game.
This was recorded earlier this week (as visitors to my blog may already
know). I've been busy re-writing a lot of the game code to make
the brick ricochets work better (who'd have thought that something as
simple as a ball bouncing off a brick would be so much trouble?) and to
give the performance a bit of a boost.
I'll need the extra cpu time to add some nice eye-candy into the game
(hopefully).
24/11/2007 Hello peeps. Just a
quick update on Batty Junior.
Things are going rather well
(albeit slowly). The original levels have all been re-written,
most of the bonus powers work, in fact, I'm probably about half done.
What still needs to be done?
The
remainder of the power-ups (multi-ball, stretchy bat, kill all aliens,
shooty thingy)
Aliens
Gravity
thingy (you know the one)
So while
there is still a bit to do - there's not too much really.
16/11/2007 Most of the updates to the
website are now complete, I'm hopefully going to get a little bit of
spare time now to get on with Batty
Junior. That isn't to say
that nothing has been done on it. No siree Bob! I've pretty
much re-written the code, sampled some of the original sound effects,
updated most of the graphics, added a loading screen, in fact it now
feels much more like the original game.
There is still plenty to do, so I'm not announcing any release date for
this - to quote the old cliche "it will be done when it is done".
There may be a demo release
later this month if things move on quickly enough.
14/11/2007 As Arcadia was the only
game without a MacOS version, I've put together a quick port of
it. Just so the Mac users don't feel left out.
11/11/2007 As promised, the MacOS port
of RetroVaders has now been
updated to version 1.30. As an added
bonus, the port of Chaos Caverns
for MacOS has also been updated to the
latest version. Both are available from
the usual place.
04/11/2007 This
week I'll be starting to update to the web site. Some small
changes have already been made, some major ones will be coming soon.
I'll also be putting up some more information on Batty Junior.
Batty Junior - In
progress
31/10/2007 Happy Halloween.
Moving on from RetroVaders
work has started on Batty Junior.
Wander over to the Developers
Diary at RetroRemakes if you want to know more. . . . .
28/10/2007 RetroVaders 1.30 is now
available for Linux and Windows. MacOS X version will follow.
28/10/2007 Ten days on and I'm
about ready to unleash RetroVaders
1.30.
RetroVaders 1.30 -
Coming Soon
Plenty of new features and a couple of bugfixes, expect it sometime
soon. The game has evolved into pretty much what RetroVaders
Deluxe would have been so I'm not too sure if there is any point
trying
to make that now.
Changes from 1.20
to 1.30
Added joypad support.
New options Screen.
Game options saved to disk.
High score saved to disk.
Multiple backdrops (Invaders, Deluxe Invaders, Retrovaders, None).
Multiple invader sprite sets (Retrovaders, Classic, Atari 2600).
Number of bunkers selectable between none and four.
Number of invaders increased to 50.
UFO no longer appears if there are less than eight invaders on screen.
Invader drop speed tweaked to ensure that they always land at the same
height (there was a slight variance depending on which row landed).
19/10/2007 After further testing
I've updated the Windows version of RetroVaders
so that there are now
TWO executables in the archive, one for OpenGL and one for
DirectX. If one doesn't work, try the other. Rassen frassen
Windows. . . . .
18/10/2007 Here we are at RetroVaders
1.20.
Changes from 1.10
to 1.20
Resolution / Screen mode switching enabled for MacOS (PPC).
Windows version runs using DirectX instead of OpenGL.
Mystery UFO set to appear on 23rd shot, then every 14 shots after.
Mystery UFO bonus now between 50 and 300 points.
Game defaults to new Full Colour mode (can be disabled by pressing C).
Backdrop can be disabled (by pressing B).
New intro screen.
New screenshots will be available sometime tomorrow. In the
meantime head on over to the downloads
section for the
game.
17/10/2007 I wasn't going to do
another RetroVaders release,
but a feature was suggested that I really
thought should go in, which is the bonus UFO frequency. In the
original game the bonus UFO appears on the 23rd shot, and destroying it
on the 24th give you the maximum bonus. The UFO appears every
14th shot after that, shooting it on the 15th gives the maximum bonus
(unless you've missed the maximum bonus pattern earlier, in which case
you get the regular 50-300 bonus).
The game also displays the bonus score when the UFO is shot (which I'd
forgotten to add too).
You now only get the one bonus life at 1500 points (again, matching the
original).
15/10/2007 I've added the fixes to RetroVaders
that should allow it to run correctly. Unfortunately
I won't get chance to test that until tonight, but in the meantime I've
compiled and uploaded the Windows and Linux versions of RetroVaders to
1.10.
Changes from 1.00
to 1.10
Set graphics driver to OpenGL to enable screen mode switching.
Set default resolution to 640x480.
Changed base shooting style from autofire to single fire (matches
original game).
Reduced frequency of UFO appearance from 1 in 1000 to 1 in 10000.
Changed score display to match original game.
Slightly reduced the drop speed of the invaders to give players a bit
more of a chance.
Windows, Linux and MacOS X binaries are now
available.
A beta version of Chaos Caverns
(1.000) for MacOS X has also been
added. I'll be updating the Mac version when I release the next Chaos Caverns
update.
14/10/2007 I've compiled a test
version of RetroVaders for
MacOS X. There are a couple of minor
issues with it (no screen mode switching, game display only fills a
quarter of the screen) but, well, it's a start. Head on over to
the downloads page if you want to give it a try.
12/10/2007 Downloads coming soon.
Watch
this space.
Downloads for RetroVaders are
now available from the usual place.
11/10/2007 Announcing: RetroVaders.
Yes folks, the new release from Dan's Remakes is my tribute to Space
Invaders - RetroVaders.
The initial release will be for Linux and
Windows - with MacOS following if there is any demand for it.
I'm currently doing the final bug hunt ready for the games release on
Saturday.
10/10/2007 Well, it looks like I'll be
releasing the new game soon. It's 98% complete so providing
everything goes according to plan with the final 2% then I'll be
looking towards this weekend for the initial release. Keep an eye
on Half a page of scribbled lines for updates (and maybe a
screenshot too).
03/10/2007 Wow! October already?
Where did this year go to? Well, we're not dead (yet). In
fact, I'm working towards a couple of things (in no particular order):
1) An update to Chaos Caverns. Some new levels have been sitting
on the shelf for a while now and really should be let loose.
2) An entirely new remake - which is well on the way to being
completed. Hint - Retro Gamer ran a feature on it recently.
3) Probably another remake (I've got a couple in mind)
When will the new game be released I hear you ask? Well, probably
some time in the next week or two. I'm aiming for this weekend,
but no promises as I want to add some extra stuff in before I let it
loose.
25/08/2007 'Ello peeps. Hope you're all
enjoying the Summer season. Although things have been a bit quiet
on the coding front (busy at work) I'm (hopefully) going to be able to
get some things done.
In other news - we've just received a new toy - the
PlayPal.
Read on for the full review.
21/03/2007 Has it really been over a month
since the last update? I'll be doing a bit more coding this month
now that things have calmed down a touch. I'm going to switch on
to a side project (of which I've got two on the drawing board) for a
bit which will be hosted here. While it's not strictly speaking a
remake it is most certainly retro - more on that later this
month. I've got a proof-of-concept framework here so I know how
the game should look and play - most of the fun is going to be in doing
the graphics.
18/02/2007
Well,
we are (finally) free of builders, decorators and insurance types (but
have STILL got to deal with a damn surveyor later on this week).
Still - at least now I can get access to my computer again.
I've also managed to dip into the old retro haul and have a go at
one of my favourite systems - the much maligned Sega 32X. Yes
folks - Sega's Magic Mushroom.
It
looks like there is a problem with the files at files-upload.com as all
my files hosted there have vanished. Sorry to anyone who's tried
to download from there. I'm hosting the files myself again for
now while I look for a more reliable mirror site.
31/01/2007
As
some of you may have noticed,
there hasn't been a lot of activity on the site since version 1.200 was
released a couple of weeks ago.
At the moment I'm in the middle a lot of things - not lease having the
builders and decorators around to replace the ceiling and redecorate
our dining room - which unfortunately is where my PC is. This means
that I've not had a lot of access to the PC lately, and this situation
is likely to continue for the next week or two.
I'll still be checking my e-mail but don't be surprised if things stay
quiet.
The
Windows version of Chaos Caverns
now has a second mirror courtesy
of those very nice people at www.strategyinformer.com
(thanks Jamie!).
20/01/2007
As
promised, both Chaos Caverns
and Arcadia have new releases
available
for download.
Only mirror 1 is live
at the moment - I'll add a second mirror site later on. I'll
be
updating the screenshots page at some point this weekend.
19/01/2007
I'm
planning to release Chaos Caverns
V1.200 some time on Saturday (and
the bugfix release of Arcadia
too). Stay tuned folks!
13/01/2007
The
"Featured Screenshot" has been changed to one from the
forthcoming release This is pretty close to what level 11
"Monty's Store Room #1" will end up like.
10/01/2007
It
looks like people prefer using files-upload so I've made that the
main mirror site for my files. You can go direct to all my
downloads there at http://dansremakes.files-upload.com.
If you are interested in the current progress of Chaos
Caverns,
don't forget to check out the Work
Blog.
07/01/2007
Things
are starting to quiet down a bit again after the recent rush.
I've added in a second mirror courtesy of files-upload.com.
Just as
well seeing as ShareBigFile.com was offline for a bit today.
Apparently Chaos Caverns has
also been listed on LinuxLinks.
So a big
thank-you to whoever submitted it. Spread the word. . . . .
06/01/2007
Welcome
to the first post of the New Year, and welcome to those of you
who have found your way here via the review
at root.cz. I've
absolutely no idea what the review says, but
it certainly looks nice. If anyone cares to send me an
English
translation of the review I would certainly be most grateful. . . . .
I may have to look at adding support for multiple languages into the
game. If you would like to volunteer to translate the game
into
your native language then please get in touch.
If I am going to do that then I'll also release the source code at the
same time (probably under the GPL license). Just remember
that
you will need BlitzMax
to be
able to compile the game.
Direct all comments and queries (in English if possible) to
dans(dot)remakes(at)googlemail.com. Old
news
